US Army Awards GD Contract To Produce Hydra-70 Rockets

Charlotte NC: The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command has awarded General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products a contract worth $166.4 million for the production of 2.75-inch Hydra-70 rockets.

The award is part of a five-year requirements contract signed in 2005 that has a total potential value of more than $900 million if all options are exercised. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics.

"General Dynamics Hydra-70 rockets provide U.S. forces with effective firepower that is versatile, affordable and has proven extremely successful against area suppression-type targets," said Russ Klein, vice president and general manager of weapon systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products. "Our team in Camden, Ark., is proud to manufacture this rocket system to help protect the men and women who protect us."

Hydra-70 is a family of unguided rockets offering several warhead configurations that enable an aircrew to match the rocket to the specific mission. Rockets can be fired from a variety of rotary and fixed-wing platforms, including the U.S. Army Apache and U.S. Marine Corps Cobra attack helicopters, the U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon and combat aircraft of many nations worldwide.

System engineering and program management will be performed at General Dynamics' Burlington Technology Center in Vermont. Final assembly and component sub-assembly will occur at General Dynamics' Camden, Ark., facility.