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[July 2002]
Ceradyne Receives Approval for New Small Arms Protective Inserts Design
Ceradyne Inc (Costa Mesa, CA, USA) has announced that its new design for its ceramic small arms protective inserts (SAPI) lightweight ceramic armour received First Article approval and product authorisation from the US Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, the US Army's Procurement Agency.The company has commenced production and will be shipping at a rate of approximately 4,000 SAPI ceramic armour plates per month against the balance of its existing order.
Ceradyne's CEO Joel Moskowitz commented: "The results of the government's evaluation at an independent testing laboratory were outstanding and confirm that our new SAPI system far exceeds specifications. We believe this unusually robust system provides our armed forces with extremely reliable ballistic protection and that government requirements for SAPI ceramic armor plates will continue".
Moskowitz also stated that although the company had not received formal warranty notification of earlier SAPI quality issues, Ceradyne continues its efforts on a rework solution and that initial results proved very promising.
ENDS