Leahy:  Pentagon Places
$57 Million Rocket Order With General Dynamics

 … Firm’s Burlington Arm To Manage Contract

WASHINGTON (Thursday, March 4) – Sen. Patrick Leahy and General Dynamics Thursday announced that General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products of Burlington has received a $57.5 million order from the U.S. Army, Navy and Special Operations Command for production of a 70mm rocket system. 

Leahy, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense, which handles the Senate’s work in putting together the annual defense budget bill, helped secure funds used for the contract in the Pentagon’s budget for the current fiscal year.

The rocket system, formerly the Hydra-70, is valued by U.S. military services as a versatile, effective and affordable rocket that can be fired from a variety of rotary and fixed-wing platforms.  General Dynamics’ Burlington operation, which employs about 500, manages the production of the rockets.  In two years, Leahy has helped secure more than $100 million in rocket contracts for General Dynamics.

In 2002, the future of the rocket was in danger as the Army was considering scaling back production of the Hydra-70 rocket.  Leahy was instrumental in convincing the Army to reconsider its decision based on the versatility and effectiveness the rockets offer American forces.  His efforts resulted in the inclusion of $30 million above the President’s budget request for the weapons system.  The system has been instrumental in America’s efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Leahy said.

“Supplying the Army with this affordable, proven and extremely effective tool in our defense arsenal is helping to keep these high-skilled jobs in Vermont,” said Leahy.

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