Wednesday, November 21, 2007

ATK wins $15 million services contract with NASA

[Editior's Note: Mention is made of this only because it relates to a partnership agreement Liquidmetal has with ATK for the potential manufacture of KEP for the Department of Defence.
There is no immediacy of change in our pending contract status, please note. This is written here only to keep the Liquidmetal investor aware of happenings with our partners, either with us, or with other activities, whichever may be the case]

Alliant Techsystems (ATK) announced that it has been awarded an initial three-year $15 million services contract by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Under the terms of the agreement, ATK will provide mechanical and thermal engineering support services to JPL for an initial three years, with two one-year options.


Through its acquisition of Swales Aerospace, ATK has supported JPL since 1997. The company has provided mechanical and thermal engineering services support to NASA JPL on programs such as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, the Urey Instrument, the Orion Program, and the Planck, Juno, and Aquarius missions. The ATK-led team also includes subcontractors ATA Engineering, Jackson & Tull, SGT Inc., and West Wind Engineering.

"We look forward to building on our long term relationship with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory team and are excited about our continued partnership with them on this important services contract," stated Mike Cerneck, Vice President and General Manager of the Space Division. "This is an important win for ATK and we are very proud of our team's accomplishment."

About ATK
ATK is an advanced weapon and space systems company with annual revenues in excess of $4.1 billion that employs more than 16,500 people in 21 states.


KEP Program: The original contracts with the Army were announced in the following news release:


Liquidmetal Technologies Awarded New $3.0 Million Contract to Develop Armor-Piercing Ammunition for Ground Attack Jets


Aug. 11, 2003
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.081103/232235239&directory=/google&header_file=header.htm&footer_file=

TAMPA, Fla.--Liquidmetal(R) Technologies (NASDAQ:LQMT)

Funding Provided Under $5.25 Million 2003 Defense Appropriations Allocation

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies (NASDAQ:LQMT) today announced that it has signed a new, $3.0 million research and development contract with the U.S. Army for continuing development of high-performance Liquidmetal(R) alloy composite Kinetic Energy Penetrator (KEP) rods for use in armor-piercing ammunition systems.

The 16-month contract will be directed to development of PGU-14B KEPs for the Air Force's tank-killing A-10 "Warthog" ground attack jet. Because the Liquidmetal-KEP technology would also be beneficial to the Air Force and Navy, the Army is managing the development efforts as a joint service program. The new contract follows a successful first-year, $2 million program dedicated to initial ballistic testing and the design of equipment and processes required to produce batch sizes of Liquidmetal alloy composite KEPS.

Liquidmetal Technologies has selected Alliant Techsystems (ATK) as a subcontractor to conduct full-scale systems integration and ballistic testing. ATK is the current prime contractor for the production of PGU-14Bs. The overall goal of the program is to develop higher-performance, environmentally safe KEPs as an alternative to depleted uranium rods currently used by the military.

Liquidmetal alloys possess a unique amorphous atomic structure that combines strength 2-3 times greater than titanium with the ability to be molded into precision parts, similar to plastics. Liquidmetal Technologies is the first company to produce amorphous alloys in commercially viable bulk form, and the alloys are considered a breakthrough in material science.

The Army contract is the second of two contracts awarded to Liquidmetal Technologies in recent weeks under a previously announced, $5.25 million 2003 Defense Appropriations allocation approved last fall for the continuing study of Liquidmetal alloys. On July 1, 2003 the Air Force awarded Liquidmetal Technologies an $811,000 corrosion study contract to document the anti-corrosive properties of various Liquidmetal alloy compositions in environments of military interest.

In addition, Liquidmetal Technologies is currently finalizing a Small Business Innovative Research contract with the U.S. Navy to design lightweight fragmentation bombs using Liquidmetal alloys as the primary casing. With this contract in place, Liquidmetal Technologies will be engaged in development programs will all branches of the military as well as the Department of Defense, under the auspices of the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Product development programs are also underway with several leading defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.



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