MSA awarded $ 45 million contract for Advanced Combat Helmets by US Army

MSA announced today that it has secured a two-year $45 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract from the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP) to supply U.S. military forces with Advanced Combat Helmets. Delivery of the helmets will begin in the third quarter of 2009, pending first article testing and certification. MSA began producing ballistic helmets for the U.S. military in 2002 and, in partnership with the U.S. Army, developed the concept for the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH). The ACH incorporates a lightweight design that offers soldiers advanced ballistic protection with greater comfort, stability and situational awareness. Since adoption by the Army as the standard basis of issue, the ACH has been credited with saving numerous lives in military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Following the completion of several long-term ACH contracts, this award represents a new and exciting phase of ACH production at MSA," said Bill Lambert, MSA President and Chief Executive Officer. "We're grateful for the trust the U.S. military has placed in MSA and for the opportunity to continue to serve as a partner in the effort to provide our fighting men and women in uniform with the highest level of protection possible." The ACH award represents particularly good news for MSA employees located at the company's manufacturing facility in Newport, said Mr. Lambert. "Our associates there have done an exemplary job in meeting the ballistic helmet needs of the U.S. Army since we began production there in 2002, he added.