ATK Awarded $17 Million Contract for AIM-9P Sidewinder Rocket Motors

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) has been awarded a contract worth $17 million for production of rocket motors for AIM-9P Sidewinder customers within the United States Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.  Under FMS, the U.S. government procures defense articles and services on behalf of one or more foreign customers.  The U.S. Air Force (USAF) at Hill Air Force Base in Utah issued the award. Work will be performed at Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) in Rocket Center, W. Va.

This ATK rocket motor is used to power the AIM-9P version of the Sidewinder missile, which is a supersonic, heat-seeking air-to-air missile used by a variety of fixed-wing combat aircraft since the 1970s.  The AIM-9P Sidewinder was previously exported and is still in use by NATO countries and other international U.S. allies.  ATK manufactured more than 30,000 AIM-9P rocket motors at the ABL facility in Rocket Center, W. Va. between 1978 and 1990.

Many international inventories of the AIM-9P Sidewinder are aging beyond the missile's period of expected use in service.  By re-starting the AIM-9P rocket motor production line, ATK and the USAF provide international partners with an affordable solution to update and extend the service life of their defense systems well into the future, while avoiding substantial financial investments in new missiles and aircraft. 

"ATK is proud to re-start production of the AIM-9P rocket motor to support the needs of our FMS customers," said Jerry Brode, Tactical Propulsion Market Segment Director at ATK's Missile Products division.  "This rocket motor has a significant history with ATK and has maintained a long-standing position within our portfolio of tactical Sidewinder and air-to-air rocket motor production lines."

"ATK is committed to the ongoing success of our international allies," said Cary Ralston, vice president and general manager of the Missile Products division within ATK's Defense Group.  "We are honored to provide our customers around the globe with an affordable and efficient solution to reinvigorate and sustain the service life of their missile defense systems."

Production of the AIM-9P rocket motor will occur at ABL, a U.S. Navy-owned, ATK-operated facility. ABL specializes in advanced manufacturing technologies for a variety of programs supporting current and future U.S. industrial base needs in advanced fuzing and integration, conventional munitions assemblies, solid rocket motor propulsion, and advanced material structures. 

ATK's Defense Group is an industry leader in providing innovative and affordable products across ammunition, precision and strike weapons, electronic warfare systems, and missile components across air, sea, and land-based systems.  ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally.  News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved.  Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: changes in governmental spending, budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the company's competitive environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts; and economic conditions.  ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Distribution A - Approved for public release: distribution unlimited.  Ref # 13-01-16_EBH_005 PA Case # 88ABW-2013-0565 (7 February 2013).

SOURCE ATK

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