OTTAWA, Ont., 22 March 2005. Allen-Vanguard Corp. today announced that it has signed a teaming agreement with Foster- Miller, Inc. (FMI) of Waltham, Mass., for the purposes of submitting a significant proposal to the U.S. Army for the supply of Electronic Counter Measures (ECM).
The team will offer Allen-Vanguard's latest advanced ECM system, which is already in production. ManTech Telecommunications & Information Systems Corp. will provide logistics, training and maintenance services associated with fielding and supporting the ECM systems as the third member of the bid team.
The proposal is to produce, field, and support a next generation Counter Remote Control Improvised Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare system, referred to as CREW Spiral 2 (CREW-2).
"This CREW-2 project is in response to the urgent need to improve operational capability to prevent or defeat RCIED attacks in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater of operations," said Michael Dithurbide, Electronic Warfare Systems program manager for Allen-Vanguard. "In Iraq in particular there has been an expanding and ever changing threat developed by a technically sophisticated enemy, using readily available armaments and commercially available control and communication equipment."
FMI will serve as the prime contractor for the team's proposal, providing a single point of contact and responsibility for the conduct of the program, the delivery and support of the ECM systems. FMI is a U.S. company, with personnel and facilities suitable to work on large Department of Defense programs and with a long history of support to the US military. It is owned by QinetiQ; a spin off of the U.K. Ministry of Defense, with annual revenues in the US $2 billion range.
"Foster-Miller is proud to lead this important team with Allen-Vanguard to bring the latest IED defeat technology to our troops" said Dr. William Ribich, FMI's President and CEO. "As a leading provider of bomb disposal robots and armour to the troops in theatre in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are acutely aware of the importance of this mission."
ManTech is a U.S. company listed on the Nasdaq and headquartered in Fairfax, Va. It is a leading provider of innovative technologies and solutions for mission-critical national security programs for the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. federal government customers. With 2004 annual revenues of US $842 million and more than 5,500 highly qualified employees, Man-Tech operates in the United States as well as more than 40 countries worldwide.
"We are pleased to be working with Foster Miller and Man-Tech on this proposal" said Roy Peers-Smith, president and CEO of Allen-Vanguard. "We previously stated that our strategy for pursuing major US defense and homeland security programs would include partnerships and alliances. Our teaming agreement with Foster Miller demonstrates the high calibre of partnership we strive to achieve in bidding major programs."
Allen-Vanguard's ECM systems are used in over 20 countries around the world, including Iraq.
Foster-Miller, Inc. is an engineering and technology development firm principally located in suburban Boston, Mass., with additional offices in Washington, D.C. and Albany, N.Y. The firm was founded in 1956 by three graduates of MIT who believed there was a need for a company that could solve clients' difficult technical problems through first-class analysis and design. Foster- Miller became an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of QinetiQ, Inc. in November 2004. The company has a staff of 350 that includes mechanical, electrical, thermal, chemical, nuclear, aerospace, software and materials engineers as well as metallurgists, physicists, mathematicians, chemists, biologists and support staff. For more information, see www.foster-miller.com.
Allen-Vanguard Corp. develops and markets technologies, tools and training for defeating and minimizing the effects of hazardous devices and materials, whether Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive (CBRNE). The company's equipment is in service with leading security and military forces in more than 120 countries. This includes a complete range of remote intervention robots for hazardous applications, vehicle barrier systems, suspect package containers and Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM) equipment.
The company is a world leader in the development, manufacturer and sale of specialty security equipment for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), and is the sole, worldwide licensee and/or developer of patented technologies such as the Universal Containment System and CASCAD Foam for blast mitigation, decontamination of bio-chemical warfare agents, and personal protective gear. Head office operations are located in Ottawa, Ontario, with manufacturing operations in Ottawa and Stoney Creek, Ontario; Tewkesbury, U.K.; and Cork, Ireland, and sales offices in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Asia. For more information, see www.allen-vanguard.com.
