HUNT VALLEY, Md., 19 Nov. 2007. United Industrial Corp.'s AAI Corporation subsidiary has been awarded a $2.3 million contract from the U.S. Army to assist in training the joint and individual services on operational support tasks, conditions, and standards needed to achieve U.S. military objectives to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The contract, awarded by the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation in Orlando, Fla., calls for an initial quantity of 305 IED Training Systems to be delivered to various installations worldwide.

Known as fire marker units, the training systems are designed to replicate the visual signature, sound, and trigger activation of IEDs used against U.S. and allied troops.

The systems will be produced in partnership with RUAG COEL GmbH, the German subsidiary of RUAG Electronics, Simulation, and Training Division, Switzerland.

AAI will train soldiers on the use of the training systems and provide program management, system and engineering support, and maintenance. RUAG will produce the training systems.

Robert Peters, vice president of AAI's Training Systems, says, "Improving the live training environment will better prepare our soldiers for real-world operations."

The U.S. Army IED training simulators are derived from similar devices in use with U. S. Army training ranges in Germany, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the Swiss army.