ATK Awarded $1.3 Million Contract to Deliver Fighting Position Excavator Systems to Royal Netherlands Army
Contract Marks First International Sale of System
Oct 5, 2000
ATK (NYSE: ATK) (Alliant Techsystems), said it has been awarded a 12-month contract valued at $1.3 million from the Royal Netherlands Army to deliver M300 Fighting Position Excavators (FPE) and system reload kits and trainers. The contract represents the first international sale of the FPE system.
The lightweight and compact FPE system enables a soldier to rapidly dig a two-man fighting position or "foxhole." The system consists of an augur used to dig two pilot holes and a soil-loosening explosive charge, which is placed into the holes. The blast fractures the soil, allowing it to be removed easily and quickly with a standard entrenching tool. The system's low visual and audible signature makes it ideal for general combat use as well as covert operations.
Larry Paryz, director, barrier systems and demolitions, ATK Integrated Defense Company, Hopkins, Minn., said the FPE system is another example of how ATK is helping America's allies improve their war fighting capabilities with products originally developed for U.S. forces.
"By reducing digging time by 50 percent or more, the easy-to-operate FPE system will minimize Dutch soldiers' exposure to enemy fire, reduce their fatigue, and improve their overall combat readiness and survivability," said Paryz.
The FPE was developed, tested and produced for U.S. Army Light Forces by Alliant Integrated Defense Company. Under the direction of the Program Management Office of Mines, Countermines, and Demolitions, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., the system was type classified in 1996. Initial production began in 1998, with the first unit equipped in 2000.
ATK has been a partner to the U.S. Army and its soldiers for more than 60 years. Sales to the Army accounted for approximately 32 percent of total revenues in the most recent fiscal year, making the service the company's single largest customer. Major ATK Army programs include small-caliber, medium-caliber, and large-caliber ammunition, the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW), anti-tank and anti-personnel barrier systems, and mortar and artillery fuzes.
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: ATK
Contact: Media, Rod Bitz, 612-931-5413, rod_bitz@atk.com, or Investors,
Mark Mele, 612-931-6367, mark_mele@atk.com, both of ATK
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