Contact Information: Contact: Ivy Eckerman (540) 373-2963 www.ares-sg.com
ARES Systems Group Armor Appliqué Gets Thumbs Up From Army Aberdeen Test Center
ARES Armor Passes Initial Round of MRAP II Qualification Testing
| Source: ARES Systems Group
BASSFIELD, MS--(Marketwire - March 3, 2008) - Lighter, stronger, more cost-effective armor
for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles -- that's what ARES
Systems Group and Blackwater Worldwide have offered the United States Army
and the United States Marine Corps. The EXO Scale armor appliqué, developed
by ARES, was submitted to the Marine Corps in response to the MRAP II
armored vehicle procurement.
During recent tests at the Aberdeen Test Center, Army engineers fired
government standard Explosively Formed Projectiles (EFP) at EXO Scale armor
coupons and representative vehicle base armor. The armor coupons
conclusively passed the live fire test, proving the viability of EXO Scale
for MRAP II vehicles and as an upgrade to earlier generation MRAP I
vehicles.
"EXO Scale clearly provides better protection for our deployed soldiers,"
said Maj. Gen. Buff Blount (U.S. Army, ret.), ARES chief executive officer.
"EXO Scale weighs approximately 30 percent less than the government's
current appliqué armor design. That translates to extended vehicle life,
lower operations (fuel) costs and lower maintenance costs due to less wear
and tear on the vehicle."
Lifecycle costs are not the only cost savings EXO Scale provides the Army.
"EXO Scale is approximately one-third the cost of current MRAP armor
solutions," explained Blount.
At present, Ares EXO Scale is being used on Blackwater's new MRAP II
candidate vehicle, the Grizzly. Due, in part, to the promising results from
the MRAP II testing, ARES plans to submit EXO Scale as a candidate for the
MRAP Expedient Armor Program, which will retrofit all legacy MRAP I
vehicles with enhanced MRAP II armor protection.
In total, the MRAP program is testing vehicle and armor solutions from six
companies including ARES/Blackwater. Final tests will determine which
company receives production orders for potentially thousands of MRAP II
vehicles.
About ARES Systems Group
ARES Systems Group, LLC offers "full spectrum" development, systems
integration and operations support for the implementation of emerging
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; force protection; and
information operations technologies. ARES is a service-disabled,
veteran-owned, HUBZone-certified small business headquartered in Bassfield,
Miss. founded by Maj. Gen. Buford Blount (USA, ret.), former commander of
the 3rd Infantry Division and leader of vanguard elements of coalition
operations in Iraq.