Eurosatory: Permali bags Ajax, HMT Extenda orders

Permali Gloucester will supply composite armour materials to General Dynamics European Land Systems for the British Army’s Ajax vehicle, under a £15 million contract announced by the company on 10 June.

The materials will form a component of the vehicle’s ballistic protection armour measures.

The company has invested in new machinery and equipment to manufacture the newly developed materials for the programme, and to increase factory capacity. 

Colin MacAdam, managing director, Permali, said: ‘This is a seven-year contract and the result of a great deal of hard work by many employees. This vehicle sets the standard for the use of the latest technologies – there were many new requirements that had to be achieved. Against international competition, we have demonstrated that Permali has developed world leading composite technology.’

Permali is also to supply composite ballistic armour panels to Supacat under a contract announced on 13 June.

The panels will provide ballistic protection on a specific HMT Extenda vehicle being designed and built for a major order that Supacat will be delivering in 2017/18.

The contract was won following a competition, which required Permali to demonstrate ballistic performance against a demanding set of requirements, in the wide range of environmental temperatures the vehicle will be exposed to. 

Stu Olden, sales manager for land systems, Permali, said: ‘This is a significant contract for Permali. It is the first awarded to us by Supacat, a leading specialist military vehicle designer famous for its high mobility vehicles. Measured against credible competition, we have demonstrated that, as a UK SME, Permali maintains its position as a world leader in the development of composite technology for military platforms.’

For more stories from Eurosatory 2016, see our dedicated show news page.

Related Equipment in Defence Insight

HMT Extenda

Ajax