General Dynamics continues Saudi tank work
The Royal Saudi Land Forces has awarded two contracts worth $44 million to General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) for the upgrade of its M1A2 main battle tanks (MBT).
The US Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command made the awards on behalf of the Royal Saudi Land Forces, a GDLS statement announced on 18 January.
The contracts were awarded as part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s MBT programme, in which all 314 M1A2 MBTs are to be upgraded to an M1A2S (Saudi) configuration.
This will ensure that ‘the M1A2S will possess defined capabilities that increase lethality while limiting obsolescence’, according to GDLS.
The first $37.1 million contract will provide materials and labour for the conversion of 42 of the platforms. The second $6.9 million contract will provide the equipment needed to kit out a production facility for future conversions.
The first body of work will be carried out at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Ohio, and the second in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Both components are expected to be completed by September 2012.
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