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David Luxton (Darren Brown, OBJ.)

Allen-Vanguard Corp. (TSX:VRS) has won a deal worth approximately $15.3 million for its new 'blast seat' technology.

The Ottawa-based company said it will be providing its Commander Blast Seats for the Stryker armoured combat vehicle through its partnership with the Canadian arm of General Dynamics Land Systems.

Allen-Vanguard will deliver 2,178 units of the seats, which protect military crews from the effects of explosion blasts.

"This is a very significant win for our new line of proprietary blast seat products ... Increased vehicle armour has been saving vehicles but not necessarily the crew," said Allen-Vanguard CEO David Luxton in a statement. "Government test results have confirmed (the blast seat technology's) superior performance in vehicle occupant survivability, and we are very pleased to have been selected to contribute to the ongoing effort to protect the lives of servicemen and women in harm's way."

The company said it expects to begin its first deliveries for the seats in the second quarter of its fiscal 2009 year.

Allen-Vanguard added it is looking to shop out the technology through original equipment manufacturers and system integrators across a range of vehicle upgrade and replacement programs.

Shares of Allen-Vanguard jumped to as high as 42 cents this morning on the Toronto Stock Exchange before settling down to around 37 cents at 11:25 a.m., although that price was still nine cents higher than the stock's close on Friday afternoon.