Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. has won a contract worth $55 million to supply US forces in Iraq with add-on armor systems for M-2 Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV). The company has also been given an option on similar follow-on order. Rafael received formal notification of the order from the Pentagon last week. Bradley AFVs have been in service in Iraq since the beginning of the war. Since the beginning of the war three years ago, Rafael has provided more than $100 million worth of armor protection systems to Bradley vehicles in Iraq. It also won an additional contract to supply protective systems for amphibious armored personnel carriers for US Marine Corps also stationed in Iraq.
Rafael supplies an add-on armor suit containing explosives, which was developed by its Ordinance Systems division. The explosive material detonates when struck by advanced weapons such as anti-tank missiles. The US airlifts the systems directly to Iraq, where they are added onto the basic armor on US armored troop carriers. The product, which Rafael based on a German patent, was first installed on Israeli combat vehicles including advanced models of the Merkava tank. Rafael is considered a leader in this technology.