Pocomoke City, Maryland - August 12, 2009) -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a contract valued at approximately $6.37 million to Hardwire, LLC to initiate development and testing of new armor systems for critical military applications.

Hardwire has been awarded an program to develop and prototype improved vehicle underbody armor that will meet or exceed current protection levels consistent with recently fielded or awarded vehicle programs like MRAP and M-ATV, but at a significantly lighter weight. Lighter weight vehicle underbody armor is necessary to meet program goals for gross vehicle weight, transportability, and protection for lightweight tactical vehicles. The work will be performed in Pocomoke City, Maryland.

"We are privileged to be selected by DARPA for this program," stated George C. Tunis, Chairman and CEO of Hardwire LLC. "This new DARPA effort allows our team to turn its focus the underside of the tactical vehicle, which typically consists of heavy armor. It is our objective to develop much lighter weight armor solutions without sacrificing performance, just as we have accomplished in other areas of such vehicles. Over the past few years, Hardwire has provided lightweight LTAS-objective level armor solutions, fielded the majority of the EFP kits for the MRAP program, and supported key vehicle survivability programs for OEM's in various vehicle programs. Development of the proposed technologies is critical to our soldiers in theater and Hardwire is committed to developing light-weight armor solutions that are not only state of the art in terms of protection, but also low-cost and scalable, so it can help save lives as quickly as possible."

The new DARPA award represents a continuation of Hardwire's broader armor and security efforts. Hardwire HDX vehicle armor is utilized to protect a variety of important vehicles like Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Hardwire, in concert with DARPA, pioneered the lightweight EFP armor solutions that are fielded today.

Spin-off products from previous DARPA programs are being used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps to protect vehicles used by our warfighters and by the U.S. Army and U.S. State Department to protect large military building assets in overseas. Additionally, Hardwire HS Armor is being used in a variety of Homeland Security applications to provide protection for critical infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, and utilities. DARPA is the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense (DoD). It manages and directs selected basic and applied research and development projects for DoD, and pursues research and technology where risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions.

About Hardwire LLC (www.hardwirellc.com) produces proprietary and unique value-added products for a variety of advanced composite applications including military vehicle armor and protective solutions for critical infrastructure including buildings, bridges, and utilities. Hardwire products can be found in blast-resistant structures, automotive composites, infrastructure armor solutions, marine laminates, concrete repair retrofits and flooring, storm resistant structures, ballistic-resistant panels, reinforced piping, and many other applications.

For more information, please contact:
John Hammond
Vice President – Business Development
410-957-3669