Force protection, BAE and IMG cash in at the Pentagon on the MRAP program - Al Q and Taliban help support US engineering industry with home made IED's

Force Protection, Inc. (Nasdaq:FRPT) share price (see chart from their website) has fallen back from nearly US$31 to US$23.46 at market close today, as other suppliers are taking more of the ultra protected vehicle market that the military are crying out for in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However in the new release of orders from the Pentagon as part of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) and other armored vehicle programmes FP received a $221 million contract (their 4th) for 455 vehicles bringing the total number of vehicles from FP ordered by the pentagon to 1,800. Good news for the shareholders to hear at their AGM on the 21st June 2007.

The order due for completion by end of 2008 is for ;

395 Category I Cougar 4X4
60 Category II Cougar 6X6 vehicles

FP say they expect more orders to sustain the rate of production of these armoured Mack trucks to meet a demand expected to exceed 400 vehicles per month by February 2008. Busy, busy, busy .... but where are the profits ?

Recent Department of Defense estimates project a potential MRAP vehicle requirement of more than 18,000 vehicles, worth an approximate $20 billion.

Under a parallel program the Army has placed contracts with ;

1. Textron Marine and Land Systems for 369 additional M1117 ASV 's for delivery next year due to a backup of orders with a value of US$220.5 Mn. More than 750 ASVs have been deployed in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) in support of combat missions.

2. BAE Systems for 44 RG-31 Mk 5 armoured cars for the US Army to be produced by OMG in South Africa - scheduled for delivery within 4 – 5 months.

U.S. forces have previously ordered or received 448 RG-31 vehicles, including 265 Mk5s for the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and 24 Mk5s for the U.S. Marine Corps under the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program.

3. International Military and Government LLC (IMG) received a third delivery order worth $8 million for additional 16 Category II (CAT II) MRAP vehicles, to be delivered by February 2008. The previous order awarded to International covered about 1,000 Category I vehicles.