FOND DU LAC, Wisc. — Mercury Marine will soon be supplying
alternative fuel marine engines for the U.S. Military. The development of
specialized marine engines is in response to a recent directive by the
Department of Defense that it will cease the transportation of gasoline on
ships or aircraft by 2010.

Mercury's Racing division has created a 3.0 Liter V-6, 2-cycle
low-emission OptiMax outboard that runs on JP5 class jet fuel. The engine
is based on the Mercury Racing OptiMax 250XS, the world's fastest
low-emission outboard. Mercury Racing is also developing a SportJet model,
which features the same 3.0 Liter powerhead coupled to a Mercury Marine M2
jet pump. Jeff Krueger, Director of Mercury Government Sales said, "We have
been working very closely with the Defense Department over the last year to
provide both outboard motors and Sport Jet propulsion systems that will run
on JP5 fuel. This fuel is significantly less volatile than gasoline and is
readily available in the fleet. Mercury Marine is a long time government
contractor, and has a history of supporting the needs of our military."

A prototype of the 3.0 Liter OptiMax JP outboard made its public debut at the Navy Sea, Air & Space Expo, April 15-17, in Washington, D.C. The
outboard cowling features a special stealth-like flat black finish and
tone-on-tone graphics.

The engines will be used worldwide by all departments of the U.S.
Military and Special Forces. Working with the Department of Defense is
nothing new for Mercury Racing president Fred Kiekhaefer, son of Mercury
Marine founder Carl Kiekhaefer, who is also president of Brunswick
Commercial and Government Products. The Edgewater, Florida based company
produces specialized vessels for the Department of Defense and Homeland
Security.

"Mercury developed chainsaw and target drone engines for the WWII war effort so this is not new to us," said Kiekhaefer. "For decades, Mercury engines have also been in service for environmental protection,
port security and interdiction of those who would undermine America.".