ATK and its Affiliate COI Ceramics Receive Contract Award from Boeing for Ceramic Matrix Composites

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) affiliate COI Ceramics Inc., was awarded a contract by Boeing Research & Technology for the development and demonstration of a Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) exhaust nozzle for the FAA's Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program.

CMCs represent an additional offering in the aircraft composites market for ATK, which also has a growing business base in commercial and military aircraft structures and fan containment cases for large commercial aircraft engines.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recently announced that they will work together to speed the development and application of environmentally progressive technologies to produce cleaner and quieter commercial jet aircraft.    

The more efficient engines that will power these aircraft require exhaust materials that are capable of withstanding higher temperatures than the steel used in today's commercial jet engines. ATK's CMCs are as light as aluminum and can withstand temperatures over 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. These revolutionary composites also help improve acoustic performance.

"Ceramic composites provide strength comparable to steel at the same weight you find in polymer composites," said Scott Richardson, general manager COI Ceramics Inc. "We look forward to providing this advanced technology to aid in the improvement of aircraft engines."  

The Boeing technologies being developed under the CLEEN program will be flight tested aboard two demonstration vehicles, the next-generation Boeing 737 in 2012 and a yet-to-be-determined twin-aisle airplane in 2013.

An affiliate of ATK, COI Ceramics, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California www.coiceramics.com.

ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company with operations in 24 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally, and revenues of approximately $4.8 billion.  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: the challenges of developing new composite technologies; 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