**U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated June 11, 2010 ~ Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $10,813,611 firm- fixed-priced modification under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5031) delivery order #0018, to purchase 2,654 570 amp alternator modernization kits. These kits will be installed on the Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle fleet supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C., and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $1,937,510 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Source: DTN News / Force Protection, Inc & U.S. DoD issued June 11, 2010 (NSI News Source Info) Ladson, SC - June 12, 2010: Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT), a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of survivability solutions and provider of total life cycle support for those products,
June 7., announced it has received a modification to contract M67854-07-D-5031 from the United States Marine Corps Systems Command for additional modernization of the U.S. military’s Cougar fleet. The approximate $46.1 million firm, fixed price contract modification provides for the purchase of 2,451 enhanced Automated Fire Extinguishing Systems (“AFES”), with deliveries scheduled to begin in July 2010 and be completed by February 2011.
June 7., announced it has received a modification to contract M67854-07-D-5031 from the United States Marine Corps Systems Command for additional modernization of the U.S. military’s Cougar fleet. The approximate $46.1 million firm, fixed price contract modification provides for the purchase of 2,451 enhanced Automated Fire Extinguishing Systems (“AFES”), with deliveries scheduled to begin in July 2010 and be completed by February 2011.Randy Hutcherson, Chief Operating Officer for Force Protection, commented, “We are extremely proud of the proven performance and continued durability of the Cougar fleet, and believe this award for additional modernization is another indicator that our Cougar family of vehicles remains a critical asset for the U.S. and other militaries worldwide. The AFES modernization program complements our ongoing successful efforts for the purchase and installation of Independent Suspension System (“ISS”) kits on a significant number of Cougars. We will continue to aggressively pursue additional modernization opportunities, and anticipate this segment of the business will remain an important component of our revenue mix in the years to come.”
About Force Protection, Inc.
Force Protection, Inc. is a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of survivability solutions, including blast- and ballistic-protected wheeled vehicles currently deployed by the U.S. military and its allies to support armed forces and security personnel in conflict zones. The Company’s specialty vehicles, including the Buffalo, Cougar and related variants, are designed specifically for reconnaissance and urban operations and to protect their occupants from landmines, hostile fire, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs, commonly referred to as roadside bombs). The Company also develops, manufactures, tests, delivers and supports products and services aimed at further enhancing the survivability of users against additional threats. In addition, the Company provides long-term life cycle support services of its vehicles that involve development of technical data packages, supply of spares, field and depot maintenance activities, assignment of highly-skilled field service representatives, and advanced on and off-road driver and maintenance training programs. For more information on Force Protection and its products and services, visit www.forceprotection.net.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward looking statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations. These statements are based on beliefs and assumptions of Force Protection’s management, and on information currently available to management. These forward looking statements include, among other things: the growth, demand and interest and demand for Force Protection’s vehicles, including the Cougar; expectations for future modernization and related contracts for the Cougar; the benefits and suitability of the Cougar; the ability to meet current and future requirements the Company’s execution of its business strategy and strategic transformation, including its opportunities to grow the business; and the Company’s expected financial and operating results, including its revenues, cash flow and gross margins, for future periods. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Examples of these factors include, but are not limited to, ability to effectively manage the risks in the Company’s business; the ability to develop new technologies and products and the acceptance of these technologies and products; the other risk factors and cautionary statements listed in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and as updated in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said in Brussels on Friday that insurgents have killed 59 Afghans during the past seven days, 54 of them in Kandahar. He told NATO ministers that insurgents also wounded 116, including 94 in Kandahar.
Separately, NATO announced Friday that it has opened an alternate supply route to Afghanistan via Russia and central Asia — a critical development that gives the alliance the ability to bypass the previous ambush-prone main routes through Pakistan. Although Russia offered to open its territory to NATO as a whole, negotiations over transit rights between the alliance and central Asian states took several months to complete.
The development is important because it signals Russian willingness to indirectly support the NATO-led mission. Moscow has been warmer to the mission's success in recent years, fearing that a NATO defeat in Afghanistan would cause further problems for Russia.
In Kandahar province on Friday, nine civilians, including four women and three children, were killed and eight other people were wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Maiwand district, said Zalmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. The driver hit the mine when he veered off the road to go around a section that was damaged.
In neighboring Zabul province, a suicide bomber dressed in a burqa detonated his cache of explosives in a shopping area in Shahjoy district, killing two civilians and wounding at least 16 others, said Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
The U.S. command said the two American service members died in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Friday but did not disclose details or the location because relatives had not yet been notified. NATO said a third service member was also killed but the nationality was not released.
At least 35 troops serving with the international coalition have been killed so far this month, at least 23 of them American.
Also on Friday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Bagram Air Field north of Kabul. NATO confirmed that a rocket landed in a field inside the base but did not cause any injuries or damage. NATO said a second rocket landed outside the base.
On Thursday in Ghazni province, also in the south, three Afghan policemen were killed when their vehicle hit a mine in the Qarabagh district, the Ministry of Interior said Friday. Also on Thursday, a private security company employee was killed in a mine explosion in the Ali Shir district of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, the ministry said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's planned visit to a front-line base in Helmand province next to Kandahar was canceled on Thursday after cell phone calls referring to a possible rocket attack on a helicopter were intercepted, the British domestic news agency Press Association reported. Cameron, on his first visit to Afghanistan since coming to power last month, spoke with British troops at his country's main base in Helmand on Friday.
Associated Press Writers Anne Gearan and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.
Kendall said he did not foresee a major new consolidation in the industry like that of the mid-1990s after the Cold War ended, but said some consolidation was part of the "natural course of events."
Mounting pressure on the defense budget could lead to some gradual decline in weapons research and development and procurement, commonly known as the Pentagon's investment accounts, Kendall told a conference hosted by Swiss bank Credit Suisse and Virginia-based defense consultant Jim McAleese.
"We're going to see possibly some gradual drawdown in the investment accounts," he said. "For the near term, I do not see a dramatic change."
Big defense companies are waiting for clues about the Pentagon's fiscal 2012 budget, which is being drafted now.
Kendall said the Pentagon was using tighter oversight to get a handle on programs, and in some cases could begin the live-or-die reviews mandated under the federal Nunn-McCurdy law ahead of schedule. He said the reviews were useful but needed to occur earlier, before programs were in deep trouble.
The department last week certified to Congress that six big weapons programs whose projected costs had risen by more than 50 percent over initial estimates -- including the Lockheed Martin Corp (+High-Speed+Surface+Ship,+USA.jpg)
