ATK Objective Individual Combat Weapon Completes Successful Development and Troop Demonstration Tests
Sep 23, 1999
ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE: ATK) said troop demonstration tests of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW) under development by Alliant Integrated Defense Company were completed successfully by the U.S. Army in August at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md.
The tests, which are part of the final phase of an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) program, were aimed at determining the weapon system's technological maturity and operational utility. Specific test objectives were to demonstrate accuracy, elicit feedback from users on design and operation, and gather data on ammunition performance. Participants included U.S. Army infantry soldiers from Ft. Lewis, Wash. and team members of the Joint Services Small Arms Program Office (JSSAP) at the U.S. Army Armament, Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., which is managing this phase of the OICW program.
The U.S. military's next-generation individual weapon, the OICW will provide American combat troops with an unprecedented capability on the 21st century battlefield. An international team led by ATK was awarded a contract in April 1998 to fabricate and deliver OICW prototype weapon systems and ammunition to be tested and evaluated by the JSSAP.
Hubert D. Hopkins, president, Alliant Integrated Defense Company, said the successful tests are the culmination of five years of development by a dedicated and talented OICW team of people from ATK, its teammate companies, and the government technical and user community.
"The OICW team is dedicated to putting this important new weapon system into the hands of American armed forces," said Hopkins. "The success of the recent tests clearly reflects the team's hard work and commitment to fielding the OICW."
Joel Goldman, Chief of the JSSAP office, said, "We are extremely pleased with the successful completion of the troop testing at the Aberdeen Test Center. The successful functioning of the air-bursting fuze technology exceeded everyone's expectations. Most impressive were the 100-percent successful firings by JSSAP Management Committee members against window and personnel size targets. The ATK team showed great dedication in the execution of this critical test."
With the next phase of the OICW program, Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR), management will shift from JSSAP to the Product Manager Small Arms (PMSA), also located at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.
"I congratulate JSSAP, ATK, and their entire team for an outstanding program and test results," said U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Gil Brown, PMSA. "They have set the stage for continued success as we work together to transition the program to PMSA. We are looking forward to moving rapidly into PDRR, engineering and manufacturing development, and ultimate production of the OICW. This system will revolutionize the capabilities and survivability of our soldiers on the battlefield."
Enhanced capabilities for tomorrow's war fighters
As a key element in the U.S. Army's Force XXI initiative to prepare for the 21st century battlefield, OICW will provide combat soldiers with a weapon that is significantly more effective at over twice the range -- up to 1,000 meters -- of existing infantry rifles. It will selectively replace the M16 rifle, M14 carbine, M203 grenade launcher, and Modular Weapon System currently used by U.S. Armed Forces.
Features of ATK's OICW system include:
-- Dual-munition capability combining NATO standard 5.56mm kinetic energy ammunition and 20mm high-explosive (HE) air-bursting ammunition to defeat exposed and defilade targets.
-- Over-under barrel design with a single trigger control for both types of ammunition.
-- Electronic fire control system with a laser range finder that pinpoints the precise target range at which the HE round will burst and autonomously relays the information to the round's detonating fuze.
-- Less weight than the fully equipped M16 Modular Weapon System.
-- Simple red dot day/night sighting system that utilizes uncooled infrared sensor technology for night vision.
-- Ability to separate the 20mm and 5.56mm components of the system so they can function as individual weapons depending on specific mission requirements.
ATK's OICW team includes Contraves Brashear Systems, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa. (fire control system); Heckler and Koch (HK) GmbH, Oberndorf, Germany, and HK Inc., Sterling, Va. (weapon design and U.S. manufacture); Octec, Bracknell, England (target tracker); and Dynamit Nobel AG, Cologne, Germany (ammunition technologies). Alliant Integrated Defense Company is the prime contractor, with responsibility for total weapon system integration and testing and HE ammunition.
Alliant Integrated Defense Company, Hopkins, Minn., is a leading developer and producer of infantry weapons, smart artillery systems, special operations demolitions, anti-tank barrier systems, and secure electronics subsystems. It is one of four operating companies within ATK's Defense Systems business segment, which reported fiscal year 1999 revenues of $224 million.
ATK is a $1.1 billion aerospace and defense company with leading market positions in munitions, solid propulsion, composite structures, and precision electronic fuzes. The company, which is headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., employs approximately 5,800 people and has three business segments: Conventional Munitions, Aerospace, and Defense Systems. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/
SOURCE: ATK
Contact: Media, Rod Bitz, 612-931-5413, E-mail rod_bitz@atk.com, or
Investors, Mark L. Mele, 612-931-6367, E-mail mark_mele@atk.com, both of ATK
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
