U.S. Army Selects General Dynamics to Lead Development of Land Warrior
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – General Dynamics Decision Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a $59.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to enhance the current version of the U.S. Army’s Land Warrior system. The system, including key soldier elements, consists of personal electronics, communications, global navigation and other integrated equipment. Land Warrior also enhances interoperability with the battlefield command and communications systems found on Stryker Brigade Combat Team vehicles and on the Army’s Future Combat System (FCS), which is key to the Army’s transformation. The total value of the Land Warrior program with all options exercised has an estimated potential value of $791 million.
Land Warrior provides significant improvement in lethality, survivability, battle command, mobility, and tactical awareness to U.S. soldiers. The Land Warrior systems General Dynamics develops through this program will allow the soldier to pass and receive data not only with Stryker Brigade Combat Team vehicles but throughout the combat area. The systems will also be interoperable with the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) system – the command and control system at the heart of the Army's digitization effort.
“Soldiers in the Army’s Objective Force will have a sophisticated level of functionality that not only protects them better, but also enables total integration into the advanced electronics that define the digital battlefield,” said Mark A. Fried, president and general manager of General Dynamics Decision Systems. “This program gives us a key role in the evolution of the Land Warrior program. Our systems integration capabilities will enable the Army to field the best-informed, best-protected, most-effective soldier ever.”
Land Warrior consists of several subsystems, including a weapon system, an integrated helmet assembly and protective clothing. Through a helmet-mounted display, a soldier can view computer-generated graphical data, digital maps, intelligence information, troop locations and imagery from a weapon-mounted thermal sight and video camera. This capability allows a soldier to see around a corner, acquire a target, and then fire the weapon without risking exposure to enemy fire. Menu driven displays are controlled by the soldier from a pointing device located on the chest strap and operated by the touch of a finger.
The Army has said that the initial Land Warrior system could be combat-ready as early as 2004. The first systems under the contract are scheduled for delivery to the program office, PEO Soldier, in 2005.
Stryker vehicles are the primary weapons platform for the Army’s new Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, the initial element of the Army’s effort to transform to a lighter, faster, more mobile fighting force. Stryker Brigade Combat Teams will provide joint force commanders with increased operational and tactical flexibility to execute fast-paced, distributed, non-contiguous operations across the full spectrum of conflict.
General Dynamics Land Warrior team is led by General Dynamics Decision Systems, and includes General Dynamics Land Systems (Sterling Heights, Mich.), co-developer of the Stryker and FCS family of combat vehicles; General Dynamics C4 Systems, Taunton, Mass.; Computer Sciences Corporation, Falls Church, Va.; Kaiser Electro-Optics, Inc., Carlsbad, Calif.; Omega Training Group, Columbus, Ga.; PEMSTAR, San Jose, Calif. and PEMSTAR Pacific Consultants, Mountain View, Calif.; and Thales Communications, Inc., Clarksburg, Md.
General Dynamics Decision Systems, Scottsdale, Ariz., is a leader in products and systems for information assurance, communication and situational awareness for defense and industrial customers in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to the Scottsdale headquarters, General Dynamics Decision Systems has facilities in Huntsville, Ala., Orlando, Fla. and Columbia, Md., as well as other locations close to customer centers of operation.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 54,000 people worldwide and had 2002 revenues of $13.8 billion. The company has leading market positions in land and amphibious combat systems, mission-critical information systems and technologies, shipbuilding and marine systems, and business aviation.
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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, February 4, 2003
Press Contact: (480) 441-2885
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