ATK Awarded Contract to Deliver Precision Extended Range Munition Capability for U.S. Marine Corps 120mm Mortar System

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) announced today that it will begin execution of a $14.3 million contract awarded to develop a solution to meet the U.S. Marine Corps' requirement for a rifled, 120mm, Precision Extended Range Mortar (PERM). ATK's Armament Systems division will serve as the prime contractor to the Marine Corps for the 24-month PERM development program that will demonstrate a precision mortar cartridge capable of reliably providing accuracy within 20 meters circular error probable and can then be quickly transitioned to production and ultimately fielding.

ATK has teamed with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) to bring the most mature capabilities to the program. The ATK / GD-OTS PERM technical solution combines ATK's patented and operationally-proven precision guidance fuze technology with the GD-OTS extended-range rifled mortar energetic subsystems developed during the PERM Technical Demonstration program.

"This best-in-class combination provides the most reliable and affordable path to achieve the Marine Corps' objective of fielding a precision mortar," said Bruce DeWitt, Vice President and General Manager for ATK Armament Systems Division. "Using mature, proven technologies also significantly reduces development time, which we've proven by using our Precision Guidance Kit technology to deliver - in one year's time - a fully-qualified, precision mortar to meet the U.S. Army's aggressive Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative."

ATK guidance fuze technology is currently being used by the U.S. Army to meet precision guidance requirements for 155mm artillery projectiles (XM1156) and 120mm mortar cartridges (XM395). The ATK / GD-OTS  PERM projectile will capitalize on these ongoing U.S. Army development and production programs to incorporate design commonality, lessons learned, and future product improvements.

The PERM initiative is integral to the Marine Corps Ship-to-Objective-Maneuver (STOM) contingency operations that call for precision, long-range (16 - 20km) mortars fired from the Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS) towed-mortar platform in support of Marine infantry units.

The EFSS is a light, mobile and vertically transportable indirect fire support system designed for missions requiring tactical versatility, speed and close-in fire support. The EFSS is designed to be internally transportable in the MV-22B Osprey and the CH-53 helicopter and has been in fielded with the Marine Corps since 2009.

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.

SOURCE ATK

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