Friday, August 15, 2008

General Dynamics lands $37M reactive armor contract for Vt. office

By Mass High Tech Staff

General Dynamics Corp. reports its armament and technical products division has landed a $37 million contract from the U.S. Army for reactive armor side skirt tiles for Bradley tanks.

The company said the reactive armor system is composed of tiles that fasten to the exterior of a vehicle and is intended to allow the tank to better withstand a direct hit from a variety of anti-armor munitions. The project will be managed from General Dynamics’ (NYSE: GD) Burlington, Vt., office, and work on the contract will be performed in Mississippi.

Last month, General Dynamics’ armament and technical products division landed a $22 million contract from Raytheon Co.’s missile systems unit. Under the deal, General Dynamics will produce gun systems for Raytheon’s Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon System and the Centurion Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System at its facility in Saco, Maine.

In May, the division landed a $7.8 million extension to a previously won U.S. Navy contract to produce weapons systems for fighter jets. That contract is also managed out of Burlington, while the work is being performed in Saco.

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, based in Charlotte, N.C., is a business unit of Falls Church, Va.-based General Dynamics. General Dynamics, which employs about 84,000 people, reported a 2007 net income of $2.1 billion on revenue of $27.2 billion.