WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass., April 21, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cyalume Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:CYLU) today announced a $6.1M purchase order from Rheinmetall Waffe Munition for Mk281 Mod0 and Mod1 "Green Ammunition" payloads. The order signifies the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) continued alignment with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Environmental Protection Agency's initiatives to address Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) issues. Since the Obama administration took office, U.S. military installations have promoted their strong support for green initiatives, with a renewed emphasis on balancing training excellence and range sustainability. The USMC has been recognized in Congress as trendsetters for their Mk281 program.
The Non-Dud Producing Mk281 comes in day and day/night versions (Mod0 and Mod1) and enables uninterrupted 24/7 fire-and-maneuver training on the MK19 40 mm Grenade Machine Gun. The cartridges are non-toxic and non-pyrotechnic. They do not leach toxins into soil and ground water or add to UXO clean-up costs. For training on makeshift ranges with zero liability to civilians and zero risk of range fires, Mk281 is preferred over a pyrotechnic design.
"The Defense Science Board's 2003 UXO report to the DoD detailed the need for Non-Dud Producing 40 mm training cartridges," commented Derek Dunaway, Chief Executive Officer for Cyalume Technologies. "To train sufficiently on the MK19, our troops go through 7M-10M cartridges annually. The modest amount of Mk281 used by the USMC saves taxpayers > $20M annually. If the technology gets integrated more fully across the Armed Forces, savings could be > $500M, not counting the dollars no longer needed to restore land and water."
The M918 training cartridge is widely used in the Armed Forces. It is a 1970's pyrotechnic design. The UXO report to the DoD cites engineering data -- "fuze failure rate of 3%-8% and $2,500-$16,000 to dig up a burrowed dud." For property owners affected by base closures and re-alignments, UXO means economic stagnation, since it typically takes an act of Congress to transfer unsellable high-risk land.
The initial USMC Mk281 contract award to Rheinmetall is a 5-year Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity, dated 2006. The cost of Mk281 and M918 are equivalent. The latest 40 mm "Green Ammunition" product to move through the U.S. qualification process is M1110, a low-velocity training cartridge for under-barrel grenade launchers. It will be available to U.S. and international markets later this year.
Cyalume Technologies is the world leader in the chemiluminescent industry providing dependable light for uses by militaries, police, fire and other public safety organizations in the U.S., NATO countries and the Middle East. Cyalume's chemical lights are depended on in emergencies such as blackouts, industrial accidents, acts of terrorism and natural disasters. A full complement of Military grade Cyalume(r) brand, Industrial grade SnapLight(r) brand and Consumer grade SafetyBright(r) brand emergency lighting solutions are manufactured at its plant in West Springfield, MA. The company employs 200 people at its locations in West Springfield and Aix-en-Provence, France.