ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A government/industry team consisting of representatives from both the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), will be one of ten teams honored at the annual U.S. Army Greatest Inventions Awards Ceremony in McLean, Va. on June 23, 2004.
The U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) created the Greatest Inventions Awards to recognize within AMC, the best technology solutions for the soldier. The ARDEC/General Dynamics team award is for the invention of the Army's first antipersonnel cartridge for the Abrams Main Battle Tank. Nominations for the program were submitted from across the Army laboratory community and were evaluated by soldier teams from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and active U.S. Army Divisions. Evaluators judged the entries based on their impact on Army capabilities, potential benefit outside the Army and their inventiveness.
PM-MAS Frank Altamura and ARDEC employees Peter Georgantzis, Hugh MacMillan, Henry Hudgins, Brian Levine, Joseph DeMaria and Angel Paredes along with General Dynamics employees Randall Bersch, Monika Curcione, Mike Hileman, Nathan James, and Bill Perkins will receive recognition for design and development of the XM1028 120mm Canister cartridge. The team invented an innovative projectile design that incorporates a two-piece aluminum body with axial slots to facilitate sidewall separation, which results in consistently reliable discard and uniform dispersion of the payload.
The XM1028 Canister cartridge is being developed for close-in defense of battle tanks against massed assaulting infantry attack and to break up infantry concentrations by discharging a massive blast of tungsten balls from the main cannon of the tank. It can be used to clear enemy dismounts; break up hasty ambush sites in urban areas; clear defiles; stop infantry attacks and counter attacks; and support friendly infantry assaults by providing cover by fire. The canister cartridge will provide the Abrams Main Battle Tank with a simple, quick means of engaging massed infantry with an area weapon that provides a greater volume of fire than the tank’s machine guns.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 68,400 people worldwide and anticipates 2004 revenue of $19 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 www.generaldynamics.com.