Allen-Vanguard Corporation of Ottawa, Canada has announced that it has received notification from the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) that the Company's Vanguard Mk2 bomb disposal robot has been selected for the Canadian Forces (CF) "MINI-ROV" program.
The MINI-ROV program is expected to run for five years. The initial order is valued at $3.7 million, with an option for additional robot orders at a value of $1.6 million (all amounts in Canadian dollars). Ultimate quantities and contract values including in-service support over the life of the program are not yet established. The Company expects to fulfill the initial order in the first half of its 2007 fiscal year commencing October 1st, 2006.
"This was an important win against international competitors," said David E. Luxton, Allen-Vanguard CEO. "It further validates the performance, capabilities and value of our Vanguard Mk2 robot for military operations and is leveragable into similar programs elsewhere."
The Vanguard Mk2 robot technology, owned by the Company, was developed in collaboration with Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), the U.S. national forum that identifies, prioritizes, and coordinates interagency and international research and development (R and D) requirements for combating terrorism.
The development mandate was to design an affordable bomb disposal robot to meet the mission requirements of local U.S. bomb teams. All local bomb teams in the U.S. have been mandated to have a bomb disposal robot by 2009.
