Kongsberg Gruppen signed a $21.7 million contract to supply its Protector remote weapon stations to equip the French army's Renault VAB armored personnel carriers.

The contract is part of a $77.5 million framework agreement the Norwegian company, with headquarters in Kongsberg, signed with Renault Truck Defense in May 2008.

The latest contract with RTD will see the Kongsberg Protector RWS mounted on the 4x4 adaptable amphibious vehicle, which can accommodate 12 people and has a maximum road speed of nearly 60 mph.

The Protector RWS is a remote-controlled, light-weight turret weapon station for light- and medium-caliber weapons and can be mounted on any type of platform. The weapon station enables the operator to keep his sights on target, regardless of the ballistic solution for the ammunition in use.

The medium-caliber cannon and coaxial machine gun combined with optional non-lethal effects provides the vehicle crew with the necessary tools to engage in a wide spectrum of situations, Kongsberg said.

The medium-caliber RWS, Kongsberg's largest RWS, was unveiled for the first time to the European market at Eurosatory 2010 in Paris last month.

One model of the protector series was unveiled at General Dynamic's stand at Eurosatory mounted on Mowag's new Piranha Class 5 wheeled armored vehicle. Another model was showcased at the stand for Finnish defense company Patria, mounted on Patria's armored modular vehicle.

Kongsberg has more than 5,400 employees in 25 countries and supplies high-technology systems to customers in the oil and gas industry, the merchant marine sector as well as defense and aerospace industries.

The business went through a major reorganization in January 2009 when its Kongsberg Maritime and Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace were divided into four business units -- Maritime, Oil and Gas, Defense Systems and Protech Systems, which supplies the Protector RWS.

Kongsberg said it has more than 6,000 Protector systems in active service worldwide, mounted on multiple platforms. By last year, Protector had been chosen by 17 countries.

In April, Kongsberg won a $92.2 million contract with the U.S. Army. The contract was part of the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations framework agreement for up to 10,349 systems.

The original CROWS II framework agreement was disclosed to the Oslo Stock Exchange on Aug. 22, 2007, but signed in December 2009.

CROWS is a joint acquisition program for weapon stations for the U.S. Army. A common solution will result in substantial efficiency gains in respect of protection, training, support and further development, said Kongsberg.