Navistar Wins Big MRAP Order

When the U.S. military placed its final MRAP order of the year -- handing out three contracts worth a combined $2.66 billion -- Navistar walked away with more than 40% of the order for itself. In fact, so did British-owned BAE. That left Force Protection -- once the leader of the group -- with less than 15% of the total share.

The news, disclosed late Tuesday, wrecked Force Protection's stock once again. The shares, already battered this month by concerns about this order, plunged 31% to $4.09 in after-hours trading.

At this point, it seems, MRAP has a new leader. Navistar's International Military and Government division scored a $1.12 billion contract for 1,500 of its Category I MRAP vehicles.

In contrast, Force Protection will collect $378 million for 178 of its Category I and 180 of its Category II MRAP vehicles combined.

Navistar specializes in the lighter Category I vehicles, while Force Protection -- until now -- has managed to dominate orders for heavier vehicles in the Category II arena. This time around, however, the U.S. military actually awarded its largest Category II contract to a foreign-owned operator instead.

BAE fielded a $645 million order for 600 of its heavy-duty Category II vehicles. Armor Holdings, which was recently acquired by BAE, secured a $458 million order for 668 of its Category II vehicles as well.