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.
These contracts extend work started in 2008 to 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.
