General Dynamics awarded $5m for vehicle barrier

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has been awarded a $5 million order for the M1 Portable Vehicle Arresting Barrier (PVAB) by the US Army Office of the Program Manager - Close Combat Systems, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., under a previously awarded multi-year contract. This contract supports the Army's Rapid Equipping Force operation needs. Units are scheduled to deliver through early 2012.

The patented M1 PVAB was jointly developed by General Dynamics and the Army's Armament Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC). It is certified by the Army as a true "non-lethal" vehicle barrier. The PVAB provides safe and non-lethal means to capture and contain vehicles and their occupants at key traffic control checkpoints and has been deployed during the past decade in portable and permanent installations around the world. The PVAB is type-classified and is in service with US Army, Marine Corps and Navy security forces.

In standby mode, the PVAB's capture net assembly is housed in a standard modular speed bump, allowing unimpeded traffic flow. When activated by security personnel to stop an unauthorized vehicle, the PVAB's net assembly erects in less than two seconds to form a soft catch barrier designed to stop a 7,500-pound vehicle traveling at 45 mph or a 14,000-pound vehicle traveling at 35 mph. The net assembly then wraps around the vehicle preventing occupants from opening the doors or backing out and secures them for questioning by checkpoint personnel.

"The PVAB enables security forces to safely and reliably stop suspicious vehicles, without having to employ lethal measures. The system provides an additional layer of protection to security measures and maximizes the probability that a driver of a vehicle with hostile intent will be stopped before they can reach their target," said Mark Schneider, general manager of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Seattle operations.

Source: General Dynamics