General Dynamics Awarded $44 Million contract for Saudi Tank Work

General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, was recently awarded two contracts worth $44 million for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's tank program. The contracts were awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command on behalf of the Royal Saudi Land Forces. This work is part of a plan by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to upgrade its entire fleet of 314 tanks. The first contract of $37.1 million is to provide materials and labor for the conversion of 42 M1A2 tanks to an M1A2S configuration for the Kingdom. The M1A2S will possess defined capabilities that increase lethality while limiting obsolescence. The conversion work will be performed by current employees at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of September 20, 2012. The second contract, worth $6.9 million, will provide the tools and equipment needed to outfit a production facility in Saudi Arabia for future conversion of M1A2 tanks to the M1A2S version. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of August 1, 2012.