01-22-97. PR Newswire:

 Alliant Techsystems Awarded $1 Million Contract to Build Composite Shells 
 for Bridge Superstructure 

 Minneapolis -- Alliant Techsystems said its Aerospace Systems Group has been 
 awarded a $1 million contract to continue development of advanced composite 
 technology for bridge infrastructures and to design and manufacture filament-
 wound graphite fiber shells for use in a highway bridge near Palm Springs, 
 Calif. Construction of the medium-span modular bridge by the California 
 Transit Authority is scheduled to begin in the fall of 1997.

 The contract was awarded by the U.S. government's Defense Advanced Research
 Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of the agency's Advanced Composites for
 Bridge Infrastructure Renewal Program. The two-year program is aimed at
 developing composites as a tool to build and replace aging bridge 
 infrastructures.

 The lightweight and corrosion-resistant composite shells, which are 14 inches 
 in diameter and 32 feet long, will be used in conjunction with concrete to 
 form the girders and columns of the bridge. During the first phase of the 
 DARPA program, Alliant fabricated composite shells for testing by the 
 University of California, San Diego.

 Peter A. Bukowick, group vice president, Aerospace Systems, said the strength,
 light weight, and stability of advanced composite materials make them well 
 suited for the harsh environmental conditions encountered in civil 
 infrastructure applications.

 "We have a long and proud heritage of providing composite structures for use 
 in high-performance aerospace systems such as large rocket motor cases, 
 satellites, and fighter aircraft components," said Bukowick. "We are pleased 
 to bring this technology to the commercial civil marketplace, where we 
 believe it will prove to be as valuable as it is in the aerospace industry."

 Bukowick said composite materials will be especially beneficial for 
 infrastructure use in states such as California because their high strength, 
 stiffness, and long-term durability will provide strong resistance to 
 earthquakes.

 The filament-wound composite shells for the DARPA bridge project will be
 fabricated at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL), Rocket Center, W.Va. 
 where Alliant recently completed installation of a new state-of-the-art 
 composites manufacturing facility. Alliant produces composite components for 
 weapons systems at ABL, which is the headquarters for the Tactical Business 
 Unit of the Aerospace Systems Group.

 In addition to filament-wound composite structures, Alliant has become the 
 world's premier producer of composite structures built with fiber placement, 
 using an automated, low-cost manufacturing process developed by the Aerospace 
 Systems Group in the early 1980s. The company builds more fiber-placed 
 structures than the rest of the industry combined, and operates five fiber 
 placement machines (approximately 50 percent of world capacity).

 Recent composite structure contracts include the liquid hydrogen tanks for
 Lockheed Martin's X-33 VentureStar(TM) Reusable Launch Vehicle, the
 next-generation space shuttle. Alliant also has built a variety of optical 
 benches for space applications, including one used to correct the vision of 
 the Hubble space telescope. Aircraft applications include components for 
 the F-22, F/A-18 E/F, V-22, and C-17 military airplanes and the Boeing 767 
 commercial airplane.

 Alliant Techsystems' Aerospace Systems Group reported fiscal year 1996 sales 
 of $553 million. The group employs approximately 4,000 people and has 
 operations in Kansas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

 Alliant Techsystems is a $1.2 billion aerospace and defense company with
 approximately 7,600 employees and operations in 24 states. The company,
 headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., comprises four business groups: Aerospace
 Systems, Defense Systems, Marine Systems, and Emerging Business. Company
 news and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.ATK.com.
 SOURCE Alliant Techsystems Inc.

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