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August 8, 2007 |
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General Dynamics Awarded USD $339 Million
Contract to Supply RG-31 Mk5E Vehicles for the MRAP Program
LONDON, Ontario, Canada – U.S. Marine Corps Systems
Command (MCSC) has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada a USD $338.7
million delivery order to produce 600 RG-31 Category II (Cat II) vehicles for
its Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. This contract is in
addition to an order announced earlier this year for 20 MRAP vehicles. General
Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company’s parent corporation, is a business
unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
The 600 RG-31s will be manufactured by Demmer Corporation of Lansing, Michigan,
with additional production coming from BAE OMC of Benoni, South Africa, in order
to meet the urgent production schedule. Deliveries will be completed by March,
2008.
The General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada MRAP vehicle is based on an extended
version of the RG-31 Mk5, the latest member of the highly successful RG-31
vehicle family. U.S. forces have previously ordered or received 492 RG-31
vehicles, including 309 Mk5s for the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
The vehicles have proven to be highly effective against mines, improvised
explosive devices and ballistic threats encountered by U.S. and Allied forces in
both Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The RG-31 family of vehicles has demonstrated effective performance,
accumulating over 2 million miles during two years of operational service,” said
Dr. Sridhar Sridharan, senior vice-president of General Dynamics Land
Systems-Canada. “Our team of experienced manufacturers will ensure that these
capable vehicles are delivered to our troops on an urgent basis. We are grateful
for the opportunity to once again play a role in protecting the lives of our
soldiers.”
The contract was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown
Agency of the Canadian Government.
General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada, located in London, Ontario, Canada is a
business unit of General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights, Michigan.
For 30 years, more than 1500 highly skilled technical employees have designed,
manufactured, delivered and supported to global customers a unique family of
light armored vehicles (LAV). More information on the company is available at
www.gdlscanada.com.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately
82,900 people worldwide and anticipates 2007 revenues of more than $27 billion.
More information about the company is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.
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