With another military contract - this one worth $49 million - things are going well for Sterling Heights defense contractor General Dynamics Land Systems.
The most recent contract, awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, will fund an engineering study of the Abrams main battle tanks, slated for completion by 2011.
"Basically, the army is starting to think about what the next version of the main battle tank will look like," says Rae Higgins, General Dynamics senior communications specialist.
The question becomes more pertinent as existing take parts become obsolete – the study, Higgins says, will identify improvements that can be made to the existing tank structures.
"There’s no new tank production," Higgins says. "We don’t produce any new tanks because chassis and hull are so fabulous, they’re sound structures. So we will completely tear it down, and put new guts in… with this kind of contract we help give the army some options to choose from."
With the U.S. military involved in wars on two fronts, it’s crucial that equipment perform properly.
"Tanks that come back from operation Iraqi freedom... we refurbish them to standard operating levels before deployment," Higgins says.
The study will be completed by existing General Dynamics staff. In recent months, General Dynamics has also been awarded multi-million contracts to work on technical support for the Abrams tank and to make spare parts for othe rmilitary vehicles.
Source: Rae Higgins, General Dynamics
Writer: Nancy Kaffer
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