ATK Awarded $109 Million Contract to Develop Joint and Allied Threat Awareness System (JATAS) for U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Aircraft

MINNEAPOLIS, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) and teammate BAE Systems announced their industry team has been awarded a $109-million contract by the U.S. Navy for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) of the Joint and Allied Threat Awareness System (JATAS), a next-generation warning system designed to enhance aircraft survivability against man-portable air-defense systems, small-caliber weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

The JATAS enhances aircraft survivability by providing advanced missile warning capability; aircrew warning of laser-based weapon systems such as range finders, illuminators, and beam riders; and hostile fire indication (HFI) for small arms, rockets, and other unguided threats.  It will interface with the existing AN/ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispensing System.

The JATAS features an open architecture design, which enables easy upgrades in the future with other self-protection functions.

"The ATK – BAE Systems industry team brings tremendous engineering and operations expertise that is focused on making JATAS a success," said Mike Kahn, President of ATK Missile Products Group. "Our collective experience in the design, development and production of combat-proven aircraft survivability equipment brings together the very best capabilities of our industry to successfully execute and deliver JATAS for our customer."

"Our team is excited to be selected for the JATAS program, and we look forward to partnering closely with the U.S. Navy to develop an affordable and highly effective, next-generation aircraft survivability system," said Bill Kasting, Vice President and General Manager of ATK Defense Electronics Systems. "Our combined team will draw upon many years of proven experience in developing innovative systems to protect military aircraft and aircrew lives."

"BAE Systems is proud to be able to partner with such an exceptional group on this very important program," said Mike Pepin, Vice President of BAE Systems' Survivability & Protection Solutions business area. "We are thrilled by today's announcement and are looking forward to working with ATK for our warfighters."

The ATK and BAE Systems team was one of two industry teams competing under a Technology Demonstration (TD) phase, awarded in October 2009. As the manufacturers of the current AAR-47 and AAR-57 missile warning systems, respectively, ATK and BAE Systems bring experience with installations on more than 5,000 fixed and rotor winged aircraft -- including the MV-22, C-5, C-17, C-130, P-3, CH-53/MH-53, CH-46, HH/SH/MH-60, AH-1W/Z, AH-64, and UH-1N/Y --  that span the U.S. military services and several allied nations.  As the next generation threat warning system, the JATAS is initially planned for integration onto the MV-22B, MH-60R, MH-60S, AH-1Z, and UH-1Y platforms.  Future platform integration requirements will be determined by the military services.

The ATK team will commence the 48-month EMD phase, which will focus on transitioning the design from development prototypes to production representative systems. Contract work will be performed in ATK's Clearwater, FL, and Woodland Hills, CA facilities, and BAE Systems' Nashua, NH facility. Work is expected to be completed in September 2015.  Other members of the JATAS industry team include DRS and Goodrich.

About ATK.  ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 22 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.

About BAE Systems.  BAE Systems is a global defense and security company with approximately 100,000 employees worldwide. The company delivers a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, and advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions, and customer support services. In 2010, BAE Systems reported sales of $34.6 billion.

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: assumptions related to the challenges of developing next-generation missile warning technology; 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