CHARLOTTE, N.C., 4 Nov. 2009. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products won a $17 million contract to produce gun systems for the Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) and the Centurion Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System from Raytheon Missile Systems of Louisville, Ky.

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics.

The Phalanx Block 1B CIWS is the most recent upgrade of the Phalanx CIWS, an autonomous, radar-directed, rapid-fire 20mm Gatling-gun system. Phalanx provides naval ships with the last line of defense against threats, including anti-ship missiles, aircraft, high-speed watercraft, and other air and surface threats. The upgrade adds enhanced fire-control capability, optimized gun barrels, and an integrated Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system.

"The Phalanx is the only deployed close-in weapon system capable of searching, tracking and engaging littoral warfare threats," says Jo Ann Kramer, program manager of gun systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products.

The gun systems will be produced at General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products' facility in Saco, Maine, with program management performed at the company's Burlington, Vt.-based Technology Center, and testing conducted at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vt.