General Dynamics Land Systems Wins Marine Corps Contract
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 1996
CONTACT: NORINE LYONS (703) 876-3190
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. -- General Dynamics Land Systems
has won the competition to build the U.S. Marine Corps' new
Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV).
Under the terms of a $ 200 million-plus demonstration/validation
contract awarded today, General Dynamics will provide design,
virtual prototyping, systems integration, fabrication and testing
of up to three prototype vehicles for the Marines from 1996 to
2001. Delivery of more than 1,000 production vehicles will begin
in 2005. With the potential for additional sales overseas, total
program value is expected to exceed $5 billion.
"The AAAV will be a tremendously capable weapons platform,
focused on one of the Marine Corps' most challenging missions:
landing on a hostile beach," said Roger E. Tetrault, president
of General Dynamics Land Systems. "This contract is the
result of GD's continuing efforts to provide the right technology
at an affordable price. It also establishes an important new
business segment for General Dynamics," he added. "For
years, we have been the Army's sole source for main battle tanks.
With this program, we're leveraging our systems integration expertise
to expand into the medium combat vehicle market."
The AAAV will be capable of transporting 18 Marines and a crew
of three over water at speeds of 29 miles an hour; the design
uses a planing hull propelled by two water jets. On land, AAAV
will achieve speeds of 45 miles an hour, with cross-country mobility
greater than that of an M1A1 tank.
The smooth transition from water to cross-country movement has
always been a difficult and dangerous job for amphibious vehicles.
The General Dynamics AAAV design solves this problem by the automatic
transfer of power from the high-speed water jets to the vehicle
tracks.
Using the same vehicle design, General Dynamics will also deliver
a command and control AAAV variant to the Marines. This mobile
command post will provide access to information from satellite
and computer-based intelligence sources, as well as from ships,
aircraft and other vehicles, while controlling operations at sea
or on land.
Before the end of the year, General Dynamics will open a 62,000
square foot facility in Woodbridge, Virginia, dedicated to amphibious
systems research and development work and for simulation and integration
laboratories. The prototypes will be assembled at this site,
which was chosen for its proximity to Marine Corps facilities.
Approximately 250 people -- from General Dynamics, the Marine
Corps, and subcontractor companies -- will work at the Woodbridge
building by 1997.
General Dynamics is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia,
and employs 28,000 people in three main divisions. Land Systems,
in Sterling Heights, Michigan, designs and builds armored vehicles
and defense electronic equipment for the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine
Corps, and a number of international customers. Electric Boat,
in Groton, Connecticut, designs and builds nuclear submarines
for the U.S. Navy. Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine, designs and
builds surface combatant ships for the U.S. Navy and international
markets. General Dynamics had 1995 sales of $3 billion.
Editor's note: B-roll footage of test rigs of the AAAV
on land and water are available on request.
The following is a list of General Dynamics' subcontractors
and potential subcontractors for the Advanced Amphibious Assault
Vehicle. Further information about the size and dollar value
of any subcontracts is not yet available.
Aluminum Company of America - Bettendorf, Iowa
Allied Signal Aerospace - Tempe, Arizona
Allison Transmission - Indianapolis, Indiana
Ball Corporation - Westminster, Colorado
Boeing Defense and Space Group - Seattle, Washington
Ceradyne Inc. - Costa Mesa, California
Computer Sciences Corp. - Falls Church, Virginia
Computing Devices Canada - Ottawa, Ontario; and Calgary, Alberta
Columbia Research Corp. - Arlington, Virginia
Delco Electronics - Goleta, California
Detroit Diesel Corp. - Detroit, Michigan
DJ Industries - Anaheim, California
Dow/Boride Products - Traverse City, Michigan
DY-4 Systems Inc. - Ottawa, Canada
Howden Fluid Systems - Santa Barbara, California
Hughes Aircraft - El Segundo, California
Inter-National Research Institute - Reston, Virginia
Kearfott Guidance & Navigation Corp. - Wayne, New Jersey
Lockheed Martin Energy Systems - Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Lockheed Martin Librascope - Glendale, California
MKI Systems - Springfield, Virginia
MOOG Inc. - Aurora, New York
Teldix GmbH - Heidelberg, Germany
Varity Perkins - Shrewsbury, England
VISICOM - San Diego, California
Vista Controls - Santa Clarita, California
General Dynamics - Land Systems Press Release 96/06/13
"The AAAV will be a tremendously capable weapons platform,
focused on one of the Marine Corps' most challenging missions:
landing on a hostile beach," said Roger E. Tetrault, president
of General Dynamics Land Systems. "This contract is the
result of GD's continuing efforts to provide the right technology
at an affordable price. It also establishes an important new
business segment for General Dynamics," he added. "For
years, we have been the Army's sole source for main battle tanks.
With this program, we're leveraging our systems integration expertise
to expand into the medium combat vehicle market."