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Arotech Awarded New $1.6
Million US Army Battery Contract
CECOM Contract for Electric Fuel
BA-8180/U Zinc-Air Batteries
Follows 2002 $2.5 Million Order
April 14, 2003 - Arotech
Corporation (NasdaqNM: ARTX) announced today that a second contract
has been entered into between its Electric Fuel battery manufacturing
subsidiary and the US Army Communications Electronic Command (CECOM)
pursuant to 10 U.S.C. ss. 2304c(2), "Unusual and Compelling Urgency,"
for delivery of advanced zinc-air batteries. The US Army has already
shipped Electric Fuel BA-8180/U batteries from its first contract to
US forces in Iraq and the Persian Gulf.
The contract calls for delivery of the BA-8180/U zinc-air non-rechargeable
batteries following the delivery of batteries under the current contract
from September through November 2003 with a current order ceiling of
$1.6 million.
This contract was awarded only a few weeks after
the Company made delivery to CECOM of the first zinc-air batteries under
the first contract, awarded in November 2002. Recently, the Company
successfully completed the rigorous tests required by CECOM.
The BA-8180/U is a 12/24 Volt, 800 Watt-hour non-rechargeable
battery pack, approximately the size and weight of a notebook computer.
The battery is based on the new generation of lightweight, 30 ampere-hours
cells developed by Electric Fuel over the last 5 years with partial
funding by CECOM. In extensive field-testing, the BA-8180/U battery
typically provided 4 to 6 times the run time of a BA-5590, a primary
lithium battery pack widely used in the military. Zinc-air batteries
are considerably safer in combat situations and more environmentally
friendly than lithium batteries.
"Within a very short time we have gained acceptance
of our products and now our manufacturing and quality have been confirmed,"
said Arotech Chairman and CEO Robert S. Ehrlich. "This order is
further proof of our strategic shift to batteries for the military,
and a very good sign for the future."
About Arotech Corporation
Arotech's corporate mission is to provide quality
defense and security products for the military, law enforcement and
homeland security markets, including advanced zinc-air batteries, multimedia
interactive simulators/trainers and lightweight armoring.
Arotech Corporation (www.arotech.com) operates two
business divisions: Electric Fuel Batteries -- developing and manufacturing
zinc-air batteries for military and homeland security applications and
developing electric vehicle batteries for zero emission public transportation;
and Arotech Defense -- consisting of IES Interactive, which provides
advanced high-tech multimedia training systems for law enforcement and
paramilitary organizations, and MDT Armor, which provides vehicle armoring
for the military, industrial and private sectors.
Except for the historical information herein, the
matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking statements,
as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, as they are subject to various risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results to vary significantly. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, risks relating to: product and technology
development; the uncertainty of the market for Arotech's products; changing
economic conditions; delay, cancellation or non-renewal, in whole or
in part, of contracts or purchase orders; significant future capital
requirements; and other risk factors detailed in Arotech's most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002
and other filings (under the name Electric Fuel Corporation) with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Arotech assumes no obligation to
update the information in this release. Reference to the Company's website
above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon
into this press release.
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