Textron RPG Countermeasure System Completes Phase I Testing

(Wilmington, Mass., October 13, 2009) -- Textron Defense Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today that its Tactical Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Airbag Protection System, known as TRAPS, has successfully completed testing at the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) in Socorro, New Mexico. This testing was accomplished under the supervision of the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC.

Textron Defense Systems' TRAPS is a vehicle protection system that utilizes sensor detection technology combined with airbags and non-lethal countermeasures to defeat threats. During testing, numerous live RPGs were fired at different angles and from both short and long ranges at the TRAPS system.


"Goals for this round of testing included recording extensive system data, as well as evaluating its baseline operational performance," says Chief Technology Officer Tom McNamara of Textron Systems Corporation. "With these Phase I tasks accomplished successfully, we are looking forward to further fine tuning the TRAPS system's capability."

Phase II testing is expected to take place in late fall of this year. As with the successful Phase I test event, Phase II testing will utilize an architecture design for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP, vehicle.

"TRAPS is designed to deliver an invaluable measure of added protection to warfighters in the field," says Textron Defense Systems Senior Vice President and General Manager Mark Catizone. "Each test we complete is another opportunity to create a more mature, capable system to better serve our customers."

Source : Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT)