Ceradyne awarded additional armor contract

COSTA MESA, Calif., April 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has contracted Ceradyne Inc. to deliver its lightweight ceramic body-armor systems to support the protection of troops from ballistic threats.

U.S. company and technical ceramic-products developer Ceradyne was awarded the contract from the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command based at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

Under the $8.1 million deal, Ceradyne will ship its Small Arms Protective Inserts lightweight ceramic body armor to the Army as part of a Foreign Military Sales requirement. Details of the FMS order were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to receive this additional FMS body-armor order," David Reed, Ceradyne president of North American operations, said in a statement.

"We believe that the government placed this order with Ceradyne, at least in part, due to its reliable delivery, quality performance on previous SAPI procurements and competitive pricing."