Camden plant gets Army order for rockets

By The Associated Press

CAMDEN — Versatile Hydra-70 rockets that can be fired from several different aircraft will be assembled at the General Dynamics plant in Camden under a $150 million order from the Army, the company announced Friday.

System engineering and program management will be performed at General Dynamics' Burlington Technology Center in Vermont, the company said.

"Final assembly and component sub-assembly will occur at the company's Camden, Ark., facility and will be performed by the site's existing workforce," according to a news release.

Delivery of the first rockets under the latest order is expected to begin in September 2010, the news release said.

The Hydra-70 has been produced at the Camden plant for more than 12 years. The latest order was awarded under a five-year contract originally signed in 2005, according to General Dynamics.

The rocket can be fired from both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, including the Army's Cobra attack helicopter and the Marines' Cobra. The company said the rockets can also be included in the armament of the Air Force F-16, "and combat aircraft of many nations worldwide."

"Hydra-70 consists of a family of unguided rockets offering several warhead configurations that enable an aircrew to match the rocket to the specific mission," the release said.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 92,900 people worldwide.