Ceradyne Receives $70M for Body Armor Side Inserts

Interceptor OTV
(click to enlarge)

Ceradyne Inc in Costa Mesa, CA received a $70 million firm-fixed-price contract for Enhanced Side Ballistics Inserts and Carriers. Work will be performed in Costa Mesa, CA, and is expected to be complete by June 30, 2006. This was a sole source contract initiated on Jan. 11, 2006 by the Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (W91CRB-06-C-0002). DID has covered the Interceptor OTV body armor that these inserts would fit into. We also noted a recent $14.6 million Ceradyne contract of special ceramic inserts for certain elite U.S. fighting units that are shaped to protect other areas of the body in addition to the chest and back.

There has been a lot of debate about body armor lately, and some soldiers serving on the front lines believe that even more weight and restricted mobility (especially in Hummers) is more likely to get them hurt than protect them. Army Secretary Francis Harvey, on the other hand, believes every GI ought to wear a couple of extra protective panels along the sides of the armor vest. Panels much like the ones in this Ceradyne contract. Ultimately, we hope the decisions will be made by the commanders on the war’s front lines.