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General Dynamics Awarded $66 Million Army Robotic Research Agreements

WESTMINSTER, Md. – The U.S. Army Robert Morris Acquisition Center, on behalf of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, has awarded General Dynamics Robotic Systems two agreements for robotics research and development. The agreements’ value could exceed $66 million over eight years if all options are exercised. General Dynamics Robotic Systems is a part of General Dynamics Land Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

The first agreement creates an alliance, led by General Dynamics, of 13 academic and commercial members focused on developing robotic technologies that enable high-speed autonomous movement in unstructured environments, and to provide robotics technology to future combat systems in all aspects of land warfare.

Members of the alliance, called the Cooperative Alliance for Robotic Technology (CART) consortium, are Carnegie Mellon University, Florida A&M University, SRI International, Applied Systems Intelligence, Inc., Jet Propulsion Laboratory, BAE Systems, Sarnoff Corporation, University of Maryland, Micro Analysis and Design, Percep Tek, Science and Engineering Services Inc., Signal Systems Corporation and AAI Corporation.

The second agreement awarded is an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract to facilitate the transition of robotic technology to military, government and commercial customers.

"These awards represent the U.S. Army’s largest investment to date in unmanned ground-vehicle robotics. They are key to supporting the Army’s Transformation by providing critical research into the use of robotic technologies in unmanned ground vehicles in the Future Combat System," said Scott Myers, vice president, General Dynamics Robotic Systems. "These awards also give the CART team the means to leverage the Army’s investment in robotic technologies to other areas in the military, such as logistics, where the need for robotic applications has been recognized but not investigated."

General Dynamics Robotic Systems intends to hire 20 engineers and professional staff members at its Westminster location to support these awards.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 49,000 people worldwide and anticipates 2001 sales of approximately $12 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 - Tuesday, August 7, 2001
Press Contact: (810) 825-7980