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General Dynamics [US] |
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World ranking: 6 General Dynamics, 3190 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, Virginia 22042-4523 BACKGROUND General Dynamics was established in 1952. It includes Electric Boat, which built the first nuclear-powered subma-rine, USS Nautilus. In 1982, it added its first Combat Systems unit, Land Systems, which makes armoured vehicles and in 2003, it increased this area of work with the acquisition of the Canadian GM Defense. In 2002, General Dynamics registered a 25% growth in military business. The company is headquartered in Virginia, US, and employs people in the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK. 3 General Dynamics in the UK General Dynamics UK Ltd, headquartered in South Wales, employs 900 people.4 It professes to be a world leader in the supply of advanced electronics to military industry and is one of largest avionics suppliers to the Eurofighter Typhoon programme.5 In 2001 General Dynamics UK Ltd was awarded the £1.7bn Bowman communications programme by the UK MoD. On June 26th 2003, it received a related contract worth more than £25m from the MoD for the provision of ground-to-air data connections with the British Army Apache helicopters. General Dynamics UK Ltd (Headquarters), Bryn Brithdir, General Dynamics UK Ltd (London office), 11-12 What it makes Marine Systems: General Dynamics designs and builds nuclear-powered submarines, surface combatants, auxiliary ships and large commercial vessels. It is the leading supplier of combat vessels to the US Navy. Electric Boat, located in Connecticut, built and supports the US Navy's fleet of Ohio class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. It is responsible for manufacturing Los Angeles and Seawolf attack subs and shares construction of the first four Virginia class sub-marines with Northrop Grumman Newport News. Information and Technology: An expanding business area for General Dynamics, specialising in command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions. Combat Systems: General Dynamics designs, manufactures and supports land and amphibious armoured vehicles, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers. The company's Abrams tank, currently in service with the US Army, was deployed to Iraq in 1991 and 2003. It also makes suspensions, engines, transmissions, guns and ammunition handling systems and ordnance. General Dynamics and depleted uranium General Dynamics Land Systems' Abrams tank features depleted uranium armour and deploys a 120mm shell which contains a DU penetrator. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems make two types of DU-tipped anti-tank ammunition (see Depleted Uranium, page 18). The company is also responsible for the 'Avenger' 30mm Gatling gun on the A10 'Tank-buster' aircraft. Martin Marrietta Armament Systems originally manufactured the 'Avenger' but in 1994 Martin Marietta merged with Lockheed Martin and two years later General Dynamics acquired Lockheed Martin Defense Systems (combat vehicles) and Armament Systems for $450m.6 The Avenger has a cyclic rate of 3,900 rounds per minute and can fire DU-tipped PGU-14/B Armour Piercing Incendiaries.7
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