CRDN Ceradyne, Inc. (MM)

Ceradyne, Inc. (Company) (Nasdaq:CRDN) received two new orders totaling $5.6 million for its lightweight ceramic armor systems. A $1.6 million order was received from the U.S. Navy for ceramic armored seats for Navy helicopters, and a $4 million order was received for lightweight ceramic body armor for a new military program. Shipments are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2005 and be completed by June 2006. These new orders are separate from the $461 million contract for ESAPI for the U.S. Army announced in 2004. Joel Moskowitz, Ceradyne chief executive officer, commented: "I am very pleased that we were selected as the supplier of these state-of-the-art military protection systems. The increasing diversity of our ceramic armor systems is demonstrated by orders such as these, which represent growth potential beyond ESAPI products and the potential addition of several new customers." Ceradyne develops, manufactures and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, automotive/diesel and commercial applications. Additional information about the Company can be found at www.ceradyne.com. Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Ceradyne that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "expects," "intends," "future," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.