Ball Aerospace to Support Critical Missile Defense Program
December 18 2003 - 1:15PM
PR Newswire (US)
Ball Aerospace to Support Critical Missile Defense Program Images
Available at: http://media.primezone.com/noc/ BOULDER, Colo., Dec.
18 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has been
selected by a Northrop Grumman Corporation and Raytheon Company
team to provide the Command and Control Battle Management
Communications (C2BMC) mobile S-Band Transmit/Receive phased array
antennas, and to provide the Interceptor Antennas in support of the
Kinetic Energy Interceptors (KEI) Contract. On December 3, 2003,
the U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded a Northrop Grumman-led team
the prime contract for the KEI program, to provide the United
States with the ability to destroy hostile missiles at their most
vulnerable stage, the boost/ascent phase of flight. The team is now
moving forward with developing and testing this critical boost
phase element of the Agency's global layered missile defense
system. Ball Aerospace President and CEO, David L. Taylor said,
"Ball Aerospace is proud to be part of the KEI team contributing to
the improvement of national security and helping to develop our
country's Ballistic Missile Defense System." KEI will complement
the other boost, midcourse and terminal defense interceptor
programs currently under development while providing a land-based
capability that can be adapted quickly and easily to sea-based
platforms. Ball Aerospace is expected to develop and manufacture
the C2BMC mobile S-Band Transmit and Receive phased array antennas
for Northrop Grumman and develop the KEI Interceptor Antenna for
Raytheon. The Northrop Grumman development will span approximately
5 to 6 years and the Raytheon development will be completed over
approximately a year and a half. Ball Aerospace conducts domestic
and international business in the defense, civil and commercial
space arenas, providing best value and innovative solutions. The
company supports national policy-makers, the military services,
NASA and other U.S. Government agencies, as well as numerous
aerospace industry companies. Ball Corporation is one of the
world's leading suppliers of metal and plastic packaging to the
beverage and food industries. The company also owns Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. With the addition of Ball Packaging
Europe, acquired in December 2002, Ball expects to report 2003
sales of approximately $4.9 billion, of which approximately $4.4
billion will come from its two packaging segments and $500 million
from its aerospace and technologies segment. Forward-Looking
Statements The information in this news release contains
"forward-looking" statements. Actual results or outcomes may differ
materially from those expressed or implied. As time passes, the
relevance and accuracy of forward-looking statements contained in
this release may change. The company currently does not intend to
update any particular forward-looking statement except as it deems
necessary at quarterly or annual release of earnings. Please refer
to the Form 10-Q filed by Ball Corporation on November 10, 2003,
for a summary of key risk factors that could affect actual results
or outcomes. Factors that might affect the packaging segments of
the company are: fluctuation in consumer and customer demand;
competitive packaging material availability, pricing and
substitution; the weather; fruit, vegetable and fishing yields;
company and industry productive capacity and competitive activity;
lack of productivity improvement or production cost reductions;
regulatory action or laws, including the German mandatory deposit
or other restrictive packaging laws and environmental and workplace
safety regulations; availability and cost of raw materials, energy
and transportation; the ability or inability to pass on to
customers changes in these costs, particularly resin, steel and
aluminum; pricing and ability or inability to sell scrap;
international business risks (including foreign exchange rates and
tax rates) particularly in the United States, Europe and in
developing countries such as China and Brazil; and the effect of
LIFO accounting on earnings. Factors that may affect the aerospace
segment are: funding, authorization and availability of government
contracts and the nature and continuation of those contracts; and
technical uncertainty associated with aerospace segment contracts.
Factors that could affect the company as a whole include those
listed plus: successful and unsuccessful acquisitions, joint
ventures or divestitures and the integration activities associated
therewith including the integration and operation of the business
of Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, now known as Ball Packaging Europe; the
inability to purchase the company's common stock; insufficient or
reduced cash flow; regulatory action or laws including those
related to corporate governance and financial reporting,
regulations and standards; actual and estimated business
consolidation and investment costs and the net realizable value of
assets associated with these activities; goodwill impairment;
changes in generally accepted accounting principles or their
interpretation; litigation; antitrust, intellectual property,
consumer and other issues; strikes; boycotts; increases in various
employee benefits and labor costs, specifically pension, medical
and health care costs incurred in the countries in which Ball has
operations; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the
company's defined benefit retirement plans; interest rates and
level of company debt, including floating rate debt; terrorist
activities, war or catastrophic events that disrupt or impact
production, supply or pricing of the company's goods and services,
including raw materials and energy costs, or disrupt or impact the
credit and financing of the company's businesses; and U.S. and
foreign economic conditions. DATASOURCE: Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. CONTACT: Jennifer Meyer of Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp., +1-303-533-7155, ; or Marynoele Benson of
Northrop Grumman, +1-703-741-7723, Web site:
http://media.primezone.com/noc Web site:
http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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