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Orbital ATK Signs $69 Million Contract to Produce Artillery Precision Guidance Kits Through 2019 50408163.
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Defence & Security News - Orbital ATK
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| Orbital ATK Signs $69 Million Contract to Produce Artillery Precision Guidance Kits Through 2019 | |||
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Orbital ATK, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced today that the company has received a $69 million contract that exercises a second option from the U.S. Government to produce artillery precision guidance kits (PGK) for the U.S. military. PGK-fuzed projectiles allow battlefield commanders to more safely employ artillery with greater accuracy and less risk of collateral damage. Orbital ATK produced 4,779 PGK fuzes under the low-rate initial production contract and has transitioned to full-rate production to support the current program needs.
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 The Orbital ATK Precision Guidance kit (Photo - Twitter: Orbital ATK) |
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PGK combines guidance and fuze function for 155mm conventional artillery projectiles into one device. By simply replacing a standard fuze with Orbital ATK's guidance fuze, artillery projectiles are reliably delivered to within 30 meters (or closer) of the intended target. This degree of accuracy greatly reduces conventional artillery dispersion which can be 200 meters or more.
“Extensive, rigorous testing continues to prove maturity of PGK technology in terms of producibility, reliability, performance and safety,” said Dan Olson, Vice President and General Manager for Orbital ATK’s Armament Systems division. “This is an affordable, game-changing technology that provides the warfighter with precision and safety.” Today’s battlefield is extremely complex and continually evolving. Reducing the risk of civilian casualties and collateral damage to infrastructure is critical. These constraints can restrict the battlefield commander’s options and limit conventional artillery use to engage critical targets. PGK-fuzed rounds provides battlefield commanders with an organic precision capability that puts artillery back into the fight. Orbital ATK recently completed an initial PGK production run which passed a series of nine separate lot acceptance tests that demonstrated PGK's reliability to guide the round while in flight and perform all fuze functions correctly under extreme environmental conditions. The company recently expanded its production capability to accommodate full-rate production and is delivering on the first full-rate contract that runs through 2018. With the signing of the $69 million second option, Orbital ATK will deliver PGK fuzes through 2019. PGK greatly increases artillery accuracy through Orbital ATK’s innovative design which features a fixed-canard guidance approach with gun-hardened electronics and a self-generated power supply. PGK performs all standard fuze functions while also incorporating a “fail safe” option, preventing the projectile from detonating if it does not get close enough to the target. 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. |
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