$28 Million in 20mm Ammunition Contract for Phalanx CIWS
Alliant Techsystems has received $28 million in contracts to provide 20mm ammunition for the Navy’s Mk 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS). If all options are exercised, the total value of the contracts could be more than $46 million. The awards are from the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana.
The Phalanx CIWS is a fast-reaction, rapid-fire 20mm gun system that provides U.S. Navy ships with terminal defense against anti-ship missiles and small vessels. As the mainstay self defense system, Phalanx is used by the U.S. Navy on nearly every class of surface combat ship in its fleet and is used by navies of over twenty allied nations. ATK will provide MK 244 20mm enhanced lethality cartridges and M51A4N 20mm dummy cartridges. The tactical MK 244 ammunition is optimized for the longer barrel of the Block1B Phalanx system and features a tungsten alloy penetrator designed to defeat incoming anti-ship missiles and small vessel threats. The M51A4N dummy cartridges are inert molded plastic cartridges that are uploaded into the Phalanx system when live ammunition is removed.