Aerojet Produces 1000th Rocket Motor for U.S., Canadian and Royal Australian Navies

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, announced today that the company has produced 1000 solid rocket motors for the MK234 Nulka active expendable decoy. A ceremony attended by congressional, diplomatic, Navy and industry officials was held at Aerojet's Orange County, Va. facility today to commemorate the milestone.

Nulka provides highly effective self defense for naval surface combatants against modern anti-ship missiles (ASM). On launch, Nulka flies a trajectory that when combined with electronic radiation lures ASMs away from their intended targets. As an autonomous flight vehicle, the Nulka is capable of operating over a wide range of environments and of positioning its payload with a high level of accuracy.

The decoy employs a unique and technically challenging hovering rocket principle supplemented by solid-state microprocessor autopilot and thrust vector control.

Developed in cooperation with Australia, the word Nulka is of Australian Aboriginal origin and means "be quick." Working with Nulka prime contractor BAE Systems Australia, Aerojet manufactures and tests Nulka solid propellant rocket motors at its Orange, Va. load assembly and pack facility. This important ship self-defense system, currently fitted to more than 130 ships, provides the U.S., Canadian and Royal Australian Navy fleets with long-range protection from aerial threats and ensures the ability of the fleets to safely accomplish their primary force projection mission. The system currently is being installed in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard deepwater fleets on an accelerated basis.

"We're very pleased to be partnered with BAE Australia and the U.S. and Australian navies that are executing the Nulka program," said Vice President of Aerojet's Tactical Systems Business Unit, John Myers. "The demanding ASM defense mission requires a very high level of manufacturing process precision and our team has done an outstanding job of meeting this challenge for precision for more than 10 years on the Nulka program."

Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company's excess real estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies' Web sites at http://www.Aerojet.com and http://www.GenCorp.com.

SOURCE Aerojet