ATK Will Manufacture and Sell SMArt® 155 Artillery Projectile in U.S. Under Agreement With Germany's GIWS
Mar 28, 2001
ATK (NYSE: ATK) (Alliant Techsystems) said it has entered into an agreement with GIWS, Nuremberg, Germany, under which ATK will manufacture and offer for sale in the U.S. SMArt® 155, a sensor-fuzed munition developed by GIWS and the German government for use in all 155mm artillery systems.
In production for the German Army by GIWS since 1998, SMArt 155 is an advanced "fire and forget" smart artillery projectile that uses a millimeter wave radar and an infrared sensor to defeat artillery and armored targets in all weather and environmental conditions. GIWS is under contract to produce 9,000 SMArt 155 projectiles over the next several years.
Under the agreement, GIWS will transfer the technology for SMArt 155 to ATK Ammunition Systems Company, New Brighton, Minn., which will be the prime contractor for the manufacture of the projectiles, submunitions, and other components, and will market the product in the U.S.
Mike McCann, president, ATK Ammunition Systems Company, said SMArt 155 offers the U.S. Army the lowest-risk solution in terms of cost, schedule, and performance to meet the service's need for a sensor-fuzed munition.
"SMArt 155 has been proven to be highly effective against a significant array of countermeasures, environments, and weather conditions at reliability rates exceeding 90 percent," said McCann. "With a production base already in place, it's affordable -- and the price could continue to be reduced if the system is used to satisfy multiple payload needs."
McCann said ATK could deliver 200 SMArt 155 projectiles to the U.S. Army this year for operational testing and evaluation. Low-rate initial production could start as early as 2003, with full production beginning in 2005.
ATK Ammunition Systems Company is a leading supplier of training and tactical tank ammunition and medium-caliber ammunition and millimeter wave and laser radar sensors for smart weapons.
GIWS (Gesellschaft fur intelligente Wirksysteme GmbH) is a joint venture company owned by Diehl Munitions Systeme, Nuremberg, Germany, and Rheinmetall DeTec AG, Ratingen, Germany, and is involved in the design, development, and production of smart munition systems.
ATK is a $1.1 billion aerospace and defense company with leading market positions in munitions, precision capabilities, propulsion and composite structures. The company, which is headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., employs approximately 6,000 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, 952-931-5413, rod_bitz@atk.com, or Investors,
Steve Wold, 952-931-6747, steve_wold@atk.com, both of ATK
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