STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. -- General Dynamics Land Systems has been awarded $58.3 million to design the new Saudi M1A2 (M1A2S) Abrams tank for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract was awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command for the Royal Saudi Land Forces. General Dynamics Land Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics.

Under this engineering contract, General Dynamics will design, develop, convert, implement and test a hybrid configuration of the M1A1, M1A2 and M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP) tank variants for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The M1A1S vehicles will possess defined capabilities that increase lethality while limiting obsolescence. The engineering work will be performed in Sterling Heights.

Related contracts are expected to be awarded through FMS under the multiphase Royal Saudi Land Forces M1A2S program that will fund additional engineering work, production and modification to vehicles, and plant retooling.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 91,200 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies.

General Dynamics
14.11.2008