STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- General Dynamics
Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), delivered its
first two low-rate initial production (LRIP) Stryker Nuclear, Biological and
Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) variants to the U.S. Army yesterday at
Anniston (Ala.) Army Depot.
General Dynamics will deliver 17 NBCRV variants during low-rate
production, through March 2006. The vehicles will be used for various tests
and user evaluations through the fourth quarter of 2007. The Army is expected
to make the decision to begin full-rate production (called "Milestone C") of
the NBCRV in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The NBCRV provides the Stryker Brigade Combat Team with the Department of
Defense's newest nuclear, biological and chemical detection equipment on the
Stryker chassis. The NBCRV variant locates, marks and reports NBC
contamination on the battlefield. It detects and collects contaminated
material in the vehicle's immediate environment on the move through point
detection and at a distance with a stand-off detector. It automatically
integrates contamination information from detectors with input from on-board
navigation and meteorological systems. It also automatically transmits
digital NBC warning messages to warn follow-on forces.
Stryker is a family of eight-wheel-drive combat vehicles that can travel
at speeds up to 62 mph on highways, with a range of 312 miles. It operates
with the latest C4ISR equipment as well as detectors for nuclear, biological
and chemical weapons. In addition to the NBCRV variant, Stryker vehicle
configurations include: the Mobile Gun System; medical evacuation and anti-
tank guided missile vehicles; and carriers for mortars, engineer squads,
command groups and fire-support teams. The vehicles have more than 85 percent
common components with the rest of the 310 Strykers in a brigade combat team,
which eases the unit's training and logistics burden.
Stryker Brigade Combat Teams have operated with "historically high"
mission availability rates in Iraq since October 2003, demonstrating the value
of a force that can move rapidly as a cohesive and networked combined-arms
combat team. The Army will have six Stryker Brigade Combat Teams by 2008.
Stryker is the Army's highest-priority production combat vehicle program and
the centerpiece of the ongoing Army Transformation. Significantly lighter and
more transportable than existing tanks and armored vehicles, Stryker fulfills
an immediate requirement to equip a strategically deployable (C-17/C-5) and
operationally deployable (C-130) brigade capable of rapid movement anywhere on
the globe in a combat-ready configuration.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs
approximately 71,900 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion.
The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and
technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions;
shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information
about the company can be found at http://www.generaldynamics.com
SOURCE General Dynamics Land Systems
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Related links:
http://www.gdls.com
http://www.generaldynamics.com
CONTACT:
Rae Higgins of General Dynamics Land Systems,
+1-586-825-4610, or higginra@gdls.com
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