An American Indian-owned armor plant based in Fort Totten has a $1.8 million contract to provide special heat shield material for the military.

Sioux Manufacturing Corp. is the only U.S. manufacturer of the special "ablative tile" used to line missile launchers on ships and other military equipment, said Carl McKay, the company's president and chief executive officer.

The contract is part of a $60.7 million contract awarded last week to Lockheed Martin Corp., to provide work on four vertical launcher ships.

Lockheed Martin is the country's largest military contractor.

McKay said Sioux Manufacturing has been building the special tile for the past six years, and the recent contract is "part of an ongoing program" for the military.

"We anticipated this coming down," McKay said Monday. "It's a new order in addition to what we're already making."

McKay said the contract from Lockheed Martin likely would be expanded for Sioux Manufacturing.

The tile, which is made of fiberglass and special resins, is used to line missile launch canisters, McKay said. "The material catches - or ablates - the force of the rocket blast," he said.

McKay said the plant in Fort Totten and one in Europe are the only manufacturers of the ablative tile, but the European company is no longer in business.

The Fort Totten plant, which opened in 1974, manufactures protective armor for soldiers, tanks, ships and aircraft. Nearly all the 210 employees are American Indians.