General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has been awarded $132.7 million for the procurement and production of 69 Saudi M1A2 (M1A2S) Abrams tanks for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This work is part of a plan by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to upgrade its fleet of tanks.

The Foreign Military Sales contract was awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command for the Royal Saudi Land Forces.

This contract extends work started in 2008 to update M1A1 and M1A2 tanks to the M1A2S configuration for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The M1A2S conversion increases the efficiency and capability of the tank.

The work will be performed by current employees at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2014.