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ATK Awarded $95 Million Contract for Objective Individual Combat Weapon

Aug 8, 2000

ATK (Alliant Techsystems, NYSE: ATK) said it has been awarded a $95 million contract, with a potential value of $103 million, from the U.S. Army Armament, Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC), Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., to continue development of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW), a next-generation military rifle system that will give American fighting troops an unprecedented capability on the 21st century battlefield.

Under the 48-month contract for the Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR) development phase, ATK Integrated Defense Company, Hopkins, Minn., will evaluate a broad range of design concepts to ensure that the Army has the best combination of OICW features and performance.

ATK's OICW team includes Brashear Ltd., Pittsburgh, Pa. (fire control system), and Heckler and Koch (HK) GmbH, Oberndorf, Germany and HK Inc., Sterling, Va. (weapon design and U.S. manufacture). ATK Integrated Defense Company is the prime contractor, with responsibility for total weapon system integration and testing and the system's high-explosive ammunition.

Sharon Boone, OICW program director, ATK Integrated Defense Company, said the OICW team will be applying lessons learned during the program's Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) phase to ensure that all potential program risks are resolved before engineering and manufacturing development begins in 2004.

"The ATD program provided us with an enormous amount of valuable test data on both the weapon system and the ammunition, as well as extensive feedback from users on system design, operation, and training," said Boone. "This information will form the basis for our work during the PDRR phase, which will lay the groundwork for final development and eventual production. We look forward to working with our U.S. Army partners at Picatinny Arsenal on this important new weapon system that will dramatically increase the effectiveness and survivability of our fighting forces."

ATK Integrated Defense Company is a leading developer and producer of integrated infantry weapons, smart artillery systems, barrier systems, and secure Global Positioning System electronics subsystems. It is one of five operating companies within ATK's Defense Systems business segment.

ATK is a $1.1 billion aerospace and defense company with leading market positions in munitions, smart weapons and precision capabilities, propulsion, and composite structures. The company, which is headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., employs approximately 6,400 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: Alliant Techsystems

Contact: Media, Rod Bitz, 612-931-5413, rod_bitz@atk.com, or Investors,
Melanie E. R. Miller, 612-931-6921, melanie_miller@atk.com, both of Alliant Techsystems