General Dynamics to Supply 773 RG-31 MRAP Vehicles to U.S. Defense Department

U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada a delivery order to produce 773 RG-31 Mk5E Category I vehicles for its Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. The order has a total potential value of $552 million. General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company's parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

Work will be performed by General Dynamics employees in Anniston, Ala., and by Demmer Corporation of Lansing, Mich. Additional production will come from BAE OMC of Benoni, South Africa, in order to meet the urgent production schedule. Deliveries will be completed by April 2009.

This contract is in addition to the 624 RG-31 Mk5 vehicles already supplied under the MRAP program. Separately, an additional 566 RG-31s have been previously ordered by the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command based on Operational Need Statements by the U.S. Army for route clearance vehicles.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to once again play a role in protecting the lives of U.S. soldiers,� said Dr. Sridhar Sridharan, senior vice-president of General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada. "A repeat order such as this, in combination with the positive feedback we have received from soldiers in theater, is the best testament to the effectiveness of the RG-31 Mk5 vehicles."

The contract was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government.