A Bradley Fighting Vehicle equipped with the Iron Fist Active Protection System. Photo courtesy of General DynamicsA contractor with a facility in Williston was awarded nearly $200 million by the U.S. Department of Defense to supply the U.S. Army and other federal agencies with parts for an air defense system designed to protect armored vehicles from the ground. The award to General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems — which has an engineering and supply chain facility in Williston — totals about $191 million, though that amount could increase, according to a Department of Defense announcement.General Dynamics is building components for the system, called the Iron Fist Active Protection System, together with the Haifa, Israel-based contractor Elbit Systems.Elbit is one of Israel’s largest defense companies and supplies hundreds of products to that country’s military. The vast majority of its business, though, is done internationally.General Dynamics, meanwhile, is among the largest defense contractors in the world. Its Ordnance and Tactical Systems branch has about 30 locations across the U.S. and Canada, including in Williston, on the grounds of the former IBM campus.  The Department of Defense announcement identifies Williston as the location of its award, though it was not clear how much of the work associated with the contract will be performed in Vermont. General Dynamics also uses the government-owned Ethan Allen Firing Range in nearby Jericho to test weapons and other systems, according to a company memo.Neither General Dynamics nor the Department of Defense responded to requests for comment on the contract. A General Dynamics brochure says the Iron Fist system offers “robust and reliable threat detection” and works by launching a small warhead from a platform on top of a vehicle, “defeating or destructing the threat through a shock-wave effect.”The contract is set to be filled by July 2027, the Department of Defense said in the announcement. Read the story on VTDigger here: Williston contractor lands $191 million contract for air defense system.