Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced today that the company was awarded a $45 million dollar contract to complete development of the next generation 120 mm multi-purpose round for the Abrams Main Battle Tank. The award funds the final development and qualification for the U.S. Army’s Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) round.

The contract calls for a 30-month development and qualification deliverable, and also includes three exercisable options for initial and full-rate production that could bring the total contract value to $119 million dollars.

“Our development of advanced ammunition types provides combat overmatch for the soldier,” said Dan Olson, Vice President and General Manager for Orbital ATK’s Armament Systems Division of the Defense Systems Group. “When fielded, AMP will greatly improve the Abrams’ main-gun ammunition capabilities by closing the ATGM and wall breach capability gaps.”

The AMP round provides the warfighter with new capabilities to defeat Anti-Tank Guided Missile Teams/dismounted infantry and breach double-reinforced concrete walls. Additionally, the AMP consolidates the capabilities of four existing 120 mm munitions including defeat of light-armor, bunkers, and obstacle reduction, resulting in a reduced logistical burden while also allowing the warfighter to battlecarry a single munition for multiple engagement scenarios.

Using the Abrams’ ammunition data link, the gunner will use the fire control system to program the AMP fuze for a specific operational mode (point detonate or airburst). The versatility of the round lies in the crew’s ability to specify the engagement mode which in turn, greatly reduces crew reaction time and increases battlefield survivability.

Since 1980, Orbital ATK has partnered with the U.S. Army, to successfully type-classify 12 of the 14 current 120 mm tactical and training rounds for the Abrams tank and has delivered more than 4 million 120 mm tank rounds to the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and allied militaries. The company has qualified and is in production with the M829A4 Advanced Kinetic Energy round, which provides the ability to defeat current and projected threat tanks equipped with third generation reactive armor and active protection systems.

Orbital ATK’s Defense Systems Group is an industry leader in providing innovative and affordable precision and strike weapons, advanced propulsion and hypersonics, missile components across air-, sea- and land-based systems, ammunition and related energetic products.

Source:businesswire.com

Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missiles Systems Center to provide payload integration and support services for Space Test Program Satellite 6 (STPSat-6). The multipurpose satellite will operationally demonstrate advanced communication capabilities, collect space weather data and support nuclear detonation detection in the Earth’s atmosphere or in near space. STPSat-6 is the primary payload on the STP-3 mission which is set to launch no earlier than June 2019.

 STPSat-6 will be built on an Orbital ATK satellite bus that will be modified to fit mission requirements. Under the contract, Orbital ATK will integrate and test the spacecraft, deliver operations procedures, and support launch and on-orbit check-out. The satellite will carry nine payloads from the Department of Defense, National Nuclear Security Administration and NASA.

“The capability to modify one of our current buses into a multipurpose spacecraft demonstrates Orbital ATK’s proven history of doing whatever it takes to meet the needs of our customers,” said Chris Long, Vice President of National Space Systems at Orbital ATK. “This flexible and modular satellite bus platform provides an especially unique opportunity to host multiple instruments from three departments of government on one spacecraft, achieving customer goals at an affordable price.”

The multiple payloads on board STPSat-6 include the Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System (SABRS-3), NASA’s Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD), and seven experiments from the DOD Space Experiments Review Board. Orbital ATK’s heritage bus and avionics product line is designed to support multiple payloads and can be adapted to support the customer’s desired mission life.

The STP-3 mission is sponsored and managed by the Space Test Program (STP), which is the primary provider of spaceflight for the United States Department of Defense (DOD) space science and technology community. STP is managed by the Advanced Systems and Development Directorate of the Space and Missile Center.

Source:businesswire.com