The U.S. Marine Corps has selected Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, to deliver its new fleet of P-19 Replacement Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles. The Oshkosh P-19R will be the Marines’ first-response vehicle in aircraft fire emergencies at military bases and expeditionary airfields. This next-generation vehicle will provide more advanced on-road and off-road firefighting capabilities to Marines and replace 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 that the U.S. Marine Corps has selected Oshkosh to provide a new generation of emergency response capabilities,” said John Urias, Oshkosh Corporation Executive Vice President and President of Oshkosh Defense.

“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,” he added.

The Oshkosh P-19R is based on the proven Oshkosh Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) platform – which is currently supporting the 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.

The Oshkosh Airport Products Group is the industry-leading ARFF vehicle producer, with vehicles in operation at more than 70 countries around the world. Oshkosh began manufacturing the MB-5 ARFF vehicle for the U.S. Navy in the 1960s as well as the military’s P-19 in the 1980s. Today, the Oshkosh Striker ARFF vehicle is used by the U.S. military and at airports around the world. Oshkosh developed its Striker ARFF models with input and feedback from firefighters to provide the wide range of safety, reliability and performance capabilities they need.

Oshkosh Defense’s Integrated Product Support capabilities already are in place to deliver organic life-cycle sustainment support, including training, part supply and in-theater support. Additionally, the Oshkosh P-19R features commonality with other fielded Oshkosh vehicles to reduce sustainment costs, minimize provisioning and inventory requirements, and increase training efficiencies.

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