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General Dynamics Awarded $161 Million for M1A2 Tank Retrofit STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), a $161 million modification as part of a $283 million contract to retrofit 129 M1A2 Abrams tanks with an enhanced electronics package. The retrofitted tanks will modernize the U.S. Army??™s 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo. The M1A2 is the latest, most technologically advanced Abrams tank, entering service in 1993. It is replacing 20-year-old M1A1-configuration tanks which began service in the 1980s. This retrofit is part of the overall M1A2 tank upgrade program that integrates new technologies to improve soldier warfighting capability with enhanced digital command and control features like color maps and displays, computer memory, processing speed and communications. In May 2004 the U.S. Army awarded General Dynamics a $121 million contract to retrofit 65 of the unit??™s M1A2 tanks. This modification rounds out the contract to modernize the unit??™s entire 129-tank fleet. Work will be performed in Lima, Ohio, Tallahassee, Fla., Scranton, Pa., Muskegon, Mich., and Anniston, Ala., by existing General Dynamics employees. General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 70,200 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information about the company can be found at www.generaldynamics.com. General Dynamics Awarded Contract Worth Up To USD $78 Million for RG-31 Vehicles LONDON, Ontario, Canada - The U.S. Army Communication and Electronics Command, on behalf of the U.S. Army Program Manager for Close Combat Systems, has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada a contract with a potential value not to exceed USD $78 million (CAD $97 million) for 148 RG-31 Medium Mine Protected Vehicles. Included in this price is USD $3 million in spare parts. General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company's parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). Under this contract, General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada will provide the program management and logistics support while BAE Land Systems OMC of South Africa will manufacture the vehicles. The contract, which has initial funding of USD $38.2 million, was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government. Final contract definition and pricing is expected to be completed by April 2005. Deliveries will occur from April to Dec. 2005. The RG-31 tactical vehicle, a product of BAE Land Systems OMC of South Africa, offers excellent ballistic and mine blast protection, and will be used by the U.S. Army in support of on-going activities. Nine RG-31s were previously supplied to the US Army in 2003 and 2004 and have seen service overseas. The Canadian Army has deployed three RG-31s as part of its contribution to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. In addition, the vehicles are extensively used by NATO forces in the former Yugoslavia as well as the United Nations in Lebanon, Georgia, Syria and Kosovo. General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada, located in London, Ontario, Canada is a business unit of General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights, Michigan. For more than 25 years, approximately 1500 highly skilled technical personnel design, manufacture and deliver a unique family of light armoured vehicles (LAV). More information on the company is available at www.gdlscanada.com. General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 70,200 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com. General Dynamics Receives Order for Fifth Stryker Brigade Vehicles STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - The U.S. Army has ordered a fifth brigade of Stryker wheeled combat vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). The order for 423 vehicles to equip the brigade is valued at $582 million. Vehicle deliveries are slated for January 2006 through January 2007. The vehicles are part of a $4 billion contract awarded in November 2000 to equip the Army's new Stryker Brigade Combat Teams with more than 2,100 Stryker armored vehicles. To date, more than 1,000 Strykers have been delivered. The first Stryker brigade has been operating very successfully in Iraq since October 2003, demonstrating the value of a force that can move rapidly as a cohesive combined-arms combat team. The armored vehicles enable Stryker Brigade Combat Teams to maneuver easily in close and urban terrain, while providing protection in open terrain. Performance highlights include C-130 transportability; networked command, control, computing and communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capability; integral 14.5mm armor protection and 152mm artillery airburst protection; self-deployment and self-recovery capability; reduced vehicle acoustic signature; ability to carry a nine-man infantry or engineer squad; and bunker and wall breaching capability. Stryker is the Army's highest-priority production combat vehicle program and the centerpiece of the ongoing Army Transformation. The Stryker family of eight-wheel-drive combat vehicles can travel at speeds up to 62 mph on highways, with a range of 312 miles. Stryker vehicle configurations include carriers for mortars, engineer squads, infantry squads, command groups, and fire support teams; a nuclear, chemical and biological reconnaissance vehicle; anti-tank guided missile and medical evacuation vehicles; and the Mobile Gun System, a 105mm cannon mounted in a low-profile turret that is integrated into the Stryker chassis. General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 70,200 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com. Experimental Vehicle with Electro-Magnetic Armor Defeats Live Threat United Defense has released that the hybrid-electric drive combat vehicle outfitted with an Electro-Magnetic Armor (EMA) package has successfully defeated incoming threats during a live-fire testing. The tests were conducted Feb 22 at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The EMA-equipped combat vehicle demonstrator was accomplished through a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Army's Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren, Michigan. This approach will facilitate integration of life-saving advanced technology much more rapidly than through traditional methods. The threats employed during the live fire tests were shaped charge warheads. EMA provides the same or similar level of protection than Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) packages through an integrated package with lower weight on an hybrid-electric drive vehicle. EMA is being developed as part of a layered approach aimed at increasing US Army units protection. This approach is a key component of Future Combat Systems (FCS) platforms protection which will be based on both active and passive defense mechanisms in addition to hard-skin/armor. EMA uses high voltages and high currents to defeat shaped charge warheads such as those from Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). The electrical power generated through these high voltages and currents melts the shaped charge warhead metal diminishing or evaporating the solid-state metal and its penetration capability. Power management is the key for Pulse Forming Networks (PFN) which is the basis for EMA on a combat vehicle. Strategic Alliance between Denel and Nitrochemie: Bundling of resources and platforms to strengthen international business ties Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH, of Aschau, Germany, has entered a long-term strategic alliance with the South African company Denel Land Systems, Western Cape. Cooperation will focus on the development of improved modular propelling charges for 105 mm and 155 mm cal. artillery systems. Partner of Denel Land Systems, Western Cape: Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH ??“ a leading international supplier of know-how and expertise in the manufacture of combustible cast parts and (modular) propelling charges. The first jointly developed product is expected to be ready for qualification in 2006. Denel Land Systems, Western Cape, which employs a staff of approximately 1,200, belongs to the Denel Group, one of South Africa's largest aviation and defence technology concerns, employing a total workforce of some 10,700. Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH currently has just under 450 employees. The strategic significance of the partnership of these two companies, both of them global leaders in the development and marketing of modular propelling charges for 155 mm artillery systems, is explained by Bodo Garbe, a managing director of Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH: "We both assume that there won't be anymore customer-financed development contracts, even though demand exists for new products in the 155 mm and 105 mm field. That's why we're pooling existing technologies and resources in order to develop new products and serve new markets. In this context, the sharing of development and production costs naturally plays a big role, and we'll be using the workshare model." In practice, Denel Land Systems will focus on the production of propellant powder, while Nitrochemie Aschau will be responsible for the ignition systems. "Who will make the combustible cast parts and be in charge of loading and assembly will be decided on a case by case basis", declares Garbe. For Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH, which had sales of roughly Ђ62 million in fiscal 2004 (defence sales: approx. Ђ36 million), cooperating with its new South African partner will bring a host of medium- and long-term advantages with regard to products and markets alike. As Garbe points out, "We have the chance to get in on the act with a state-of-the-art modular propelling charge system for 105 mm. Plus we'll be able to widen our customer base. We can also reduce the fluctuations in capacity utilization and achieve cost advantages specific to this alliance." For Nitrochemie Aschau, which belongs to the Propellants unit of Rheinmetall Detec's Weapon and Munitions division, its partnership with Denel represents a further step in the systematic internationalization of its operations. Within the space of a year, the share of exports in its total defence technology sales (approx. Ђ36 million in 2004) rose from 44% (in 2003) to nearly 90%. Accounting for a considerable percentage of its export sales is the company's strategic partnership with Royal Ordnance Defence Ltd. of Filton, Bristol, a component of BAE Systems, which it entered in autumn 2001; since then, Nitorochemie has served as the UK's sole supplier of multibase powder and combustible cast parts. BAE Systems wins competition for 105 mm improved ammunition BAE Systems today announced that it has won a contact from the UK MOD for the manufacture and initial supply of 105mm Improved Ammunition (IA) for the L118 105mm Light Gun. The contract will, subject to successful qualification, lead to an initial buy of 50,000 shells valued at approximately Ј17M. The 105mm IA contract was run under competition by the Defence Procurement Agency and the Land Systems proposal was selected for its advanced technology and better value for money. Land Systems has invested over Ј15M during the last few years in developing an Insensitive Munitions (IM) technology and building a new manufacturing facility at Glascoed in South Wales. This new facility will enable Land Systems to provide a surge capacity to meet the demands of all identified UK ammunition programmes, with scope to meet export orders. Steve Rowbotham, Managing Director of Land Systems (Munitions & Ordnance) said: ???This contract will support and sustain skilled jobs across the United Kingdom and is fundamental to the continued success of the Land Systems business. This contract award is very good news for us. This will be the first opportunity for Land Systems to deploy the considerable technology investment and innovation that has been committed to the provision of Insensitive Munitions, which will offer the improved safety demanded by our armed forces and will also significantly enhance lethality over conventional ammunition.??? Defence Procurement Minister, Lord Bach said: ???As we have seen recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, artillery is a potent weapon on the modern battlefield and this advanced new munition will ensure that our front line troops get the world class equipment they need to get the job done. More effective against a range of targets and even safer to store, handle and transport it is also going to be produced across the UK where I am delighted to say it will help support and sustain skilled jobs.??? |
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