U.S. Army Selects BAE Systems For APKWS II Contract
(April 27, 2006 — Nashua, N.H.) —The U.S. Army has
selected BAE Systems as prime contractor for the Advanced Precision Kill
Weapon System II (APKWS II) program. The company received a $96.1 million
contract for development, demonstration, qualification, and limited production
of APKWS II laser-guided rockets.
APKWS II will provide a low-cost, lightweight guided weapon that is
effective against soft and lightly armored targets and is well-suited
to urban operations. The system will be used on all Army and Navy aircraft
currently operating the Hydra 70 rocket. BAE Systems is partnered with
Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. Production will begin in 2008.
"The BAE Systems team has put together a solution that keeps the
war fighter’s needs uppermost. Our design approach satisfies the need
for a low-cost, low-collateral-damage precision rocket," said Frank
Wilson, director of Precision Targeting for BAE Systems. "Our team
looks forward to working with the Army to get this capability to the
war fighter as quickly as possible.” BAE Systems is on track to provide
the first production baseline units for evaluation prior to Critical
Design Review, planned for July.
BAE Systems uses a mid-body guidance approach that employs its Distributed
Aperture Semi-Active Laser Seeker (DASALS™), also used on the Army’s
Precision Guided Mortar Munitions Program. This common product platform
is one of the contributing factors in BAE Systems’ low-cost APKWS II
solution, Wilson said.
About BAE Systems:
BAE Systems is the premier trans-Atlantic defense and aerospace company,
delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval
forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions
and customer support services. BAE Systems, with more than 100,000 employees
worldwide, had 2005 sales that exceeded $28 billion.
Ref 042/2006
For further information please contact:
Larry Stone,
BAE Systems — Tel: (607) 770-3944
Greg Lowell, BAE
Systems — Tel: (603) 885-4038
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