General Dynamics' CDC Systems UK Wins $2.4 Billion BOWMAN Contract
Program Will Mean 1,600 UK Jobs; General Dynamics to Fund ‘Center of Excellence’ for Army Communications
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – CDC Systems UK Ltd., a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a $2.4 billion (1.7 billion pounds) contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) as prime contractor for the BOWMAN communications system.
CDC Systems UK Ltd. was formed by General Dynamics to provide dedicated, co-located and single-point management for the BOWMAN program. It will be based in South East Wales, creating or sustaining approximately 1,600 jobs countrywide. CDC UK’s chairman, Lord Levene of Portsoken, said, "We are delighted to have been selected as prime contractor for the BOWMAN program. This is a hugely important contract for CDC UK, and no effort will be spared to repay the trust that has been placed in us."
In addition, General Dynamics will fund a new Army communications research and development center in the UK. The program of research will be directed by the Army toward its future needs, in collaboration with local universities. "We will create a center of excellence in military communications," said Lord Levene.
Nicholas D. Chabraja, General Dynamics chairman and CEO, said, "We will provide the UK MoD with a solution for BOWMAN that offers the lowest risk, earliest delivery and best value. We will draw on the engineering talents and experience our Computing Devices Canada business unit gained with Iris, a communications system that is performing successfully for the Canadian Army. Approximately 95 percent of the program will be carried out in the UK – and we will commit all of General Dynamics’ technical and management resources to ensure BOWMAN’s success. We hope this is the beginning of a long relationship with the UK MoD and the British Army."
BOWMAN, a secure digital voice and data communication system for the UK armed forces, will be based on Internet protocol. It will include a land-based command and control system, and will provide the infrastructure to support all digitization applications over the next 30 years. Initial operational capability will be within 24 months; all 18,000 army vehicles will be equipped and all 60,000 service personnel will be trained on BOWMAN by October 2007. BOWMAN replaces a system that is now 25 years old; it will be the largest defense communications program in the UK in over 50 years. BOWMAN will include the deployment of approximately 50,000 radios, 25,000 terminals and more than 8,000 local area systems.
CDC Systems UK Ltd. has established a strong team to execute the BOWMAN program. Companies on the team include: Computing Devices Canada, Computing Devices Company Hastings, and General Dynamics Communication Systems (all units of General Dynamics); ITT Defence Systems; Harris Systems Ltd., BAE Systems; BAE Systems IFS; Command Systems Inc., Litton Industries; Alvis Vehicles; Roush Technologies; Westland; EADS; Syntegra; HVR; Computer Sciences Corp.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, (just outside Washington, D.C.), employs approximately 47,000 people worldwide and anticipates 2001 sales of approximately $11.5 billion. The company has leading market positions in business aviation, information systems, shipbuilding and marine systems, and land and amphibious combat systems.
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Any "forward-looking statements" contained in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
General Dynamics Corporation (ticker: GD, exchange: NYSE)
News Release - Thursday, July 19, 2001
Press Contact: (703) 876-3190
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