LONDON, Ontario, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada has been awarded a $35.5 million contract to produce 24 Light Armored Vehicles for the U.S. Marines.
The LAV-A2 vehicle, which will be produced in various configurations, is an eight-wheeled amphibious vehicle equipped with enhanced armor protection, an automatic fire-suppression system for crew protection and a robust suspension for mobility.
Production of the vehicles will be performed at the General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada operations in London, Ontario, and will be completed by April 2012, the company said.
Since 2007, the U.S. Marine Corps has ordered 207 LAV-A2's and nearly 800 units of an earlier version are still in service since their introduction to the service in the 1980s.
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is a business unit of General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights, Mich.
The company said the new contract for the LAV-A2 vehicles was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corp., a Crown Agency of the Canadian government.
