The U.S. Army awarded Case Construction Equipment a five-year contract for 626 backhoe loaders, and Case has delivered the first 50 to southwest Asia. The first batch of armored loaders will be used in military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The units were manufactured at a Case plant in Burlington, Iowa. This same plant is currently working to produce another 150 non-armored backhoe loaders to be used stateside.
Case armored and non-armored backhoe loaders are being built to U.S. Army specifications, with exterior cab panels that are interchangeable to transform from standard to fully-armored configuration based on threat level. The spacious cabs are designed to stay cool in extremely hot environments, and all cabs are equipped with Case’s Visibility Improvement Package (VIP). The VIP includes four external cameras and three internal cab monitors to provide ground level vision to the operator.
Case also sent three employees to southwest Asia to provide technical support for the new equipment.
