ATK (Alliant Techsystems) has been awarded a $25.4 million
contract from General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products to produce the
MK 90 propellant grain used in the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System
(APKWS), formerly known as the Hydra 70 rocket system.
ATK Ammunition and Powder, one of five operating units within ATK’s
Ammunition and Related Products Group, will produce the APKWS propellant at
the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP) in Radford, Va., which it operates
for the U.S. Army. The company has produced this propellant at RAAP since
1985.
The APKWS comprises a family of 2.75-inch rockets both guided and
unguided, and is the most widely used helicopter weapon system in the world
today. The rockets are fired from a number of rotary and fixed-wing
platforms, including the U.S. Army Apache and U.S. Marine Corps Cobra
helicopters, the U.S. Air Force F-16 Falcon fighter, and the combat aircraft
of over 15 nations throughout the world.
“APKWS propellant production represents a significant portion of the
business base at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant,” said Pat Nolan,
president, ATK Ammunition and Powder. “This is a key program for the plant
and underpins our focus on the U.S. armed services worldwide. APKWS rockets
played significant roles in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.”
Nolan said the APKWS program, coupled with several other energetic
programs and ATK’s partnership with the Army, form the foundation of the
Radford plant’s transformation initiative to meet the Department of Defense’s
future energetic needs.
Planned enhancements to the APKWS program include guidance, warhead, and
propulsion components to increase lethality and provide a full compliment of
guided and unguided rockets in the future.
ATK is a $2.2 billion aerospace and defense company with strong positions
in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, precision capabilities, and
civil and sporting ammunition. The company, which is headquartered in Edina,
Minn., employs approximately 12,000 people and has three business groups:
Aerospace, Precision Systems, and Ammunition and Related Products. ATK news
and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com .
The forecasts, projections, and expectations for the Radford Army
Ammunition Plant’s transformation initiative and planned APKWS program
enhancements in this news release are “forward-looking statements” as defined
in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from anticipated results, including changes in governmental
spending and budgetary policies, economic conditions, equity market returns,
the company’s competitive environment, the timing of awards and contracts, the
outcome of contingencies, including litigation and environmental remediation,
program performance, and sales projections, in addition to other factors
identified in ATK’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
