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Article updated as of 11:30
Bedford’s iRobot Corp. has received notice from The Boeing Co. that it is partially terminating its subcontract for the 320 SUGV robot, which was first awarded in 2004.
Boeing, as lead system integrator under the U.S. Army’s Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program, gave notice to iRobot that the Army will terminate the contract “for convenience” of Sept. 30, according to a release from iRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT). While the initial award in 2004 for the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program was for $32 million, the total has exceeded at least $70 million since then.
According to Robert Moses, president of iRobot’s Government and Industrial Robots division, the termination comes as no surprise. “Given current budget pressures, the Department of Defense is pursuing more cost-effective contractual arrangements,” Moses said, in the release. He also stated that iRobot is working with the Army on reducing the cost of the SUGVs.
As recently as April, iRobot signed a $7.6 million contract with the Army to deliver 50 of its model 310 SUGVs, along with spare parts. The SUGVs are a smaller and lighter version of the company’s PackBot.
In July, iRobot bumped up a credit line with Bank of America from $40 million to $75 million, and extended it for two years. Officials said that the money would be available “for general corporate purposes, including strategic acquisitions.”
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