ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) has been awarded a $71 million contract for the full-rate production of the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM).  The contract, awarded by the U.S. Navy, provides for the production of operational missiles for the Navy and the Government of Italy, as well as training missile systems for the Navy, and all related supplies and services necessary for manufacturing, sparing, and fleet deployment. 

The AARGM system is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile system upgrading legacy AGM-88 HARM systems with the improved capability to perform Destruction of Enemy Air Defense missions, and is a complement to the U.S. Navy's HARM program.  AARGM's advanced multi-sensor system includes a millimeter wave terminal seeker, advanced anti-radiation homing receiver and a Global Positioning System/inertial navigation system.  These enable AARGM to rapidly engage traditional and advanced land- and sea-based air-defense threats, as well as non-radar time-sensitive strike targets. 

AARGM is a U.S. Navy and Italian Air Force international cooperative major acquisition program with the U.S. Navy as the executive agent.  AARGM is currently deployed on U.S. FA-18C/D Hornet aircraft, and is being integrated for use on the U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler and FA-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft, as well as the Italian Air Force's Tornado ECR aircraft.  The missile is also compatible with the F-35, EA-6B, allied FA-18s, and U.S. and allied F-16s.

As the prime contractor for the AARGM program, ATK leads a global industry team including the following subcontractors: MBDA Italia S.p.A, Cobham Defense Electronics, Quinstar Technology, Inc., COI Ceramics Inc., HDL Research Labs, Inc., Aerospatiale Batteries (ASB), CTS Electronics Manufacturing Solutions, Moog, Inc., Integrated Magnetics and Sierra Nevada Corporation.  AARGM is produced at ATK's facilities in Woodland Hills, and Ridgecrest, Calif.

"Achieving full-rate production underscores the tremendous performance of our government/industry team.  Achieving this milestone would not have been possible without the strong support and the steadfast dedication of our solid team and partners," said Bill Kasting, Vice President and General Manager of ATK's Defense Electronic Systems division. "We remain committed to delivering AARGM's game-changing capabilities to the Fleet and to making it available for use on other U.S. and allied platforms."

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally.  News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

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: 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