January 28, 2008 -- Optical Cable Corporation has entered into a five-year contract to supply its Tactical Fiber Optic Cable Assemblies (TFOCA) to the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) located at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. CECOM deploys ground tactical fiber-optic cable assemblies worldwide to support the tactical communication requirements of the U.S. military, as well as certain other allied militaries.
The U.S. Army will purchase from Optical Cable Corporation up to $2.6 million of the TFOCA assemblies over the life of the contract, if the U.S. Army exercises all delivery options. The contract also gives the U.S. Army the ability to extend the contract for a sixth year.
The CECOM contract announced is in addition to Optical Cable's existing five-year contract with CECOM awarded in November 2006. Under the existing contract, CECOM has the right to acquire up to approximately $4.6 million of TFOCA assemblies over the life of the contract, if all delivery options are exercised. CECOM has already purchased or ordered from the Company approximately $3.0 million of TFOCA assemblies under the existing 2006 contract.
Optical Cable Corporation believes its military tactical cables are widely recognized as the most durable and reliable fiber-optic cables available, having undergone an extensive series of qualification tests. These tests have demonstrated that the company's military tactical cables perform reliably in a wide range of extreme environments, ranging from the hot deserts of the Middle East to the extreme cold of arctic regions. In addition, the company's military cables are extremely resistant to damage from any number of typical battlefield conditions including being exposed to harsh chemicals and being driven over by both wheel and track-driven armored vehicles.
The company originally qualified the fiber-optic cable used in TFOCA assemblies in 1999. Optical Cable also manufactures military tactical fiber-optic cables in other configurations used by both the U.S. and allied militaries. The company's military tactical fiber optic cables include products qualified to the U.S. Department of Defense's MIL-PRF-85045/8A standard, and U.K. Ministry of Defence's Def-Stan 60-1, Part 3 standard.
Optical Cable's manufacturing facility is certified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a MIL-STD-790F facility. This facility certification is considered one of the most respected in the defense industry as it requires compliance with stringent government requirements for product design, documentation, process control, and management practices.
"Optical Cable is very pleased to have been selected by the U.S. Army, once again, as its preferred supplier of TFOCA assemblies for ground tactical operations worldwide," comments Barney Dean, director of military and Government Sales at Optical Cable Corporation. "Our military-grade fiber optic cables are well known for their outstanding performance by U.S. and allied militaries, and our state of the art production systems ensure that this high quality is consistently maintained."
"Optical Cable Corporation takes great pride in being the U.S. Army's supplier of choice for battlefield cable assemblies, which form the backbone of critical battlefield communications and management systems," adds Neil Wilkin, President and CEO of Optical Cable Corporation. "Optical Cable is committed to providing our service men and women with the most durable and reliable fiber-optic cable assemblies available."
