Pearson Engineering LTD, Newcastle, United Kingdom, was awarded an $11,210,158 modification to contract for M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle Engineering Breaching Systems. The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) is a highly mobile armoured minefield and obstacle breaching system based on the M1 Abrams chassis, equipped with a mine plow and line charges. Pearson has provided the specially designed plow and the other mine-clearing accessories that are integrated onto the front of the Abrams hull. Work will be performed in Anniston, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2025. Fiscal 2024 weapons and tracked combat vehicle procurement, Army funds in the amount of $11,210,158 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity.
These tracked combat vehicles were specifically designed to clear pathways for troops and other vehicles through minefields and along roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices. It includes a lane marking system (LMS), an integrated vision system (IVS), and a high lift adapter that can be used to attach either a full-width mine plough (FWMP) or a combat dozer blade.The 72-ton, 40-foot-long (12 m) vehicles are based on the M1 Abrams with a 1,500 horsepower engine, but fitted with only a .50 cal machine gun and a front-mounted 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) plow, supported by metallic skis that glide on the dirt and armed with nearly 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) of explosives. They are equipped with Linear Demolition Charge System (LDCS): rockets carrying C-4 explosives up to 100–150 yards forward, detonating hidden explosives at a safe distance, so that troops and vehicles can pass through safely.
In the 1990s, the U.S. Army decided it could not afford to continue developing complicated, maintenance-heavy vehicles for this purpose. The Marine Corps however persisted and funded its own development and testing. The main body of the final model of the ABV is built on the General Dynamics chassis that is used for the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. Pearson Engineering of the UK provided the specially designed plow and the other mine-clearing accessories. According to a report in December 2009, there were then five ABVs in Afghanistan, and the U.S. Marines were said to have plans to field a total of 52 by 2012, of which about 34 have already had been produced. The U.S. Army was said to have ordered 187. The USMC’s Force Design 2030 decision to divest of its Armor component included the ABV.the US Army being the sole branch of the US Military with under-armor mechanical breach capability.
With more than 35 years of experience in providing mobility and counter-mobility equipment to Armed Forces around the world, Pearson Engineering have a world-proven ability to deliver against the most complex defence challenges. The company design products which help combat forces to defend, move and fight and to adapt quickly to maintain their battlefield advantage. The best-known supplier of armoured engineer vehicle subsystems is British firm Pearson Engineering, and its components are found on vehicles like the ABV, Terrier, Challenger 2, Leopard, CV90, M1 Abrams, Leclerc and Stryker, for example. With current NATO-aligned doctrine outlining a need to “march divided and fight united”, it is acknowledged that engineering assets are highly valuable but unable to be omnipresent when forces are dispersed. Highly adaptable AEVs will support this, but it is also recognised that combat vehicles will face obstacles that they may need to defeat quickly.
