Ceradyne announced today that it was the recipient of a $7.3 million Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts. This is good news for the company since it is a hard revenue item rather than an open contract. The DOD wants the armor delivered “in the third quarter of 2009.”
Ceradyne has a standing Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract that will last until December 2010, but having a contract and having a real order based on that contract are two very different things.
In a news release, comments made by Ceradyne’s head of North American Operations, David P. Reed, suggested that other orders may be in the pipeline. “We are very pleased to have received this order and believe we will continue to ship this ESAPI product on time with the high standards of quality required. Based on non-binding conversations with the government, we believe that there will be additional delivery orders against the blanket ID/IQ contract this year,” said Reed.
It’s my understanding that these ESAPI plates can be used in the IOTVs (see video here) like the ones being produced by BAE.