U.S. Army Selects General Motors

The U.S. Army announced today that it has selected the GM GDLS Defense Group, a joint venture between General Motors and General Dynamics Land Systems, to equip its new Brigade Combat Teams with the General Motors LA V III eight-wheeled armored vehicle. The Army requirements based contract is to equip up to six Brigade Combat Teams, 2,131 vehicles, starting next year. The initial delivery orders will be for $61.7 million in Research, Development, Test and Evaluation and a second order for 366 production vehicles. The potential value of the total contract approaches $4 billion through 2008. The LA V III is a full-time four-wheel drive, selective eight-wheel drive, armored vehicle weighing approximately 17.24 tonnes (19 tons). It can attain speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph) on highway and has a maximum range of 500 kilometers (312 miles). The basic infantry carrier vehicle (ICV) has armor that protects the two-man crew and nine on-board soldiers from machine gun bullets, mortar and artillery fragments. The LA V III ICV variant includes configurations such as the reconnaissance, anti-tank guided missile, and medical evacuation vehicles, as well as carriers for mortars, engineer squads, command groups, reconnaissance and fire support teams. The Mobile Gun System variant consists of a General Dynamics Land Systems 105mm cannon mounted in a low profile turret integrated on the General Motors LA V III chassis. General Motors and General Dynamics will share fabrication and final assembly of the vehicles among plants at Anniston, Alabama; Lima, Ohio; and London, Ontario GM Defense is a group of GM-owned business units engaged in the design and production of Light Armored Vehicles and supporting turret systems for military use around the world. The group comprises research, design, and manufacturing facilities in London, Ontario; Goleta. California; Troy, Michigan; Kreuzlingen, Switzerland; and Adelaide, Australia. Operations within GM Defense have more than 50 years of experience in the design, manufacture, and delivery of a unique family of light armored vehicles. Those vehicles are in service with the United States Marine Corps, the United States Army National Guard, and with other military forces around the globe. General Dynamics Land Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD). General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide and has annualized sales of approximately $10 billion. The company has leading market positions in business aviation, information systems, shipbuilding and marine systems, and land and amphibious combat systems. Editorial note: Photographs of the LA V III ICV and MGS are available electronically upon request. Contact 810-825-7982 or e-mail douglas@gdls.com. CONFERENCE CALL INVITATION William Pettipas, Executive Director, OM Defense, and Mark Roualet of General Dynamics Land Systems, will discuss the announcement and answer questions from correspondents at 12:30 p.m. EST on Friday, November 17,2000. CALL IN BY 12:20 p.m. Domestic dial-in number: 1-877-282-0743 International dial-in number: 703-871-3073 Ask for the General Dynamics Land Systems conference call, and state your name and press affiliation. Contact: Kevin McKittrick at GM Defense Tel: 519 452-5720 Peter Keating at General Dynamics Land Systems Tel 810 825-7930