U.S. Marine Corps selects Oshkosh Defense P-19R aircraft rescue firefighting vehicle

OSHKOSH, Wis., 1 June 2013. The U.S. Marine Corps officials have selected Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE:OSK), to deliver its new fleet of P-19 Replacement Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles.

The Oshkosh P-19R will serve as the Marines’ first-response vehicle in aircraft fire emergencies at military bases and expeditionary airfields. The vehicle will provide advanced on-road/off-road firefighting capabilities to Marines, replacing their current fleet of Oshkosh P-19 ARFF vehicles as the vehicles reach the end of their service lives.

“Oshkosh has been supporting the P-19 ARFF fleet for more than 30 years, and we are honored…to provide a new generation of emergency response capabilities,” says John Urias, Oshkosh Corp. executive vice president and Oshkosh Defense president. “Oshkosh leveraged product and engineering expertise from both our Defense and Airport Products teams to respond to the P-19R solicitation. The Oshkosh P-19R delivers a modern, expeditionary platform with advanced firefighting capabilities for the highly volatile situations Marines might face.”

The Oshkosh P-19R is based on the Oshkosh Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) platform, used in Marine Corps off-road, heavy-payload missions across the globe, and the technologically advanced Striker firefighting systems from Oshkosh Airport Products.

The Oshkosh P-19R uses the Oshkosh TAK-4 independent suspension system to deliver exceptional mobility for off-runway response situations, and the Command Zone integrated diagnostics and automation system to increase the crew’s situational awareness and help them carry out firefighting missions.

Oshkosh Defense won the P-19R ARFF vehicles, support, and sustainment contract from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command. Work on the contract, with an estimated value of $192 million, will be performed by Oshkosh beginning in June 2013 and is expected to be completed by May 2018.