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General Dynamics Receives $57.5 Million Order for 70mm Rockets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has received a $57.5 million order from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., for the production of unguided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) 70mm rockets, motors and warheads for the U.S. Army, Navy and Special Operations Command. This order extends deliveries through 2006 on a contract awarded to General Dynamics in 1999. Total contract value to date is $893.3 million.

APKWS, formerly known as Hydra-70, is a family of 70mm guided and unguided rockets offering several warhead configurations that enable an aircrew to match the rocket employed to the mission at hand. The widely used unguided APKWS is versatile, affordable and extremely effective against area suppression-type targets. Rockets can be fired from a variety of rotary and fixed-wing platforms, including the U.S. Army Apache and U.S. Marine Corps Cobra attack helicopters, the U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon and combat aircraft of many nations worldwide.

System engineering and program management are performed at General Dynamics’ Burlington Technology Center in Vermont. Final assembly and component sub-assembly is performed at General Dynamics’ Camden, Ark., and McHenry, Miss., facilities.

In addition to production of unguided APKWS rockets, General Dynamics was awarded a contract in February 2003 to add a precision guidance system to the 70mm rocket family as part of Block I development of the guided APKWS. The guided APKWS is designed to be a low-cost, precision-guided munition capable of being employed from numerous manned and unmanned platforms against soft- and lightly-armored point targets.

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products provides a broad range of system solutions for military and commercial applications. The company designs, develops and produces high-performance armament systems; a full range of advanced composite-based products; biological and chemical detection systems; and mobile shelter systems. More information about General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products can be found on the World Wide Web at www.gdatp.com.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 67,600 people worldwide and had 2003 revenue of $16.6 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 - Thursday, March 4, 2004
Press Contact: (704) 714-8014