Alliant Techsystems and nuclear weapons profiteering factsheet

Alliant has become one of the Pentagon’s leading contractors in recent years—it has a firm hold on the ammunition market, which experts say is currently the most lucrative it has been since the Viet Nam War. Alliant’s $5.2 billion-per-year business operates in 23 states and has international sales offices in 33 countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Malaysia, Chile, Pakistan, India, Greece, and Turkey. More than 79% of the company’s business comes from the Department of Defense and related military and Homeland Security agencies.

Since 1.5 billion bullets a year is not enough, Alliant also has its foot firmly in the nuclear door:

1. Alliant produces rocket motors for most US missiles, including the Trident II ballistic missiles and Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, both of which are equipped with nuclear warheads. The Trident II (D5) missile is one of the few long-range nuclear delivery vehicles still being produced for the US forces. The D5 is unnecessarily replacing older C4 missiles, providing Alliant and other contractors with about $2.6 billion in contracts.

2. Alliant has manufactured over 16 million depleted uranium munitions to date. While depleted uranium munitions are NOT nuclear weapons, depleted uranium is a byproduct of enriched uranium, which is the material used in nuclear weapons. It is pyophoric and burns instantaneously upon impact. When it hits its target, a depleted uranium shell also disperses a fine toxic radioactive dust that can be carried long distances by the wind or absorbed into the soil and groundwater. In Iraq, US troops use deplete uranium munitions to penetrating enemy tank armor and reinforced bunkers. According to a military spokesman, in the first year of the war in Iraq, the U.S. Army and Air Force fired 127 tons of DU munitions. Soldiers and civilians in the war zones and those who live near testing ranges like the one in Socorro, New Mexico where open air testing of DU was conducted for more than 20 years, have suffered the short and long term health effects of ingesting radioactive dust, such as kidney problems, birth defects, cancers and death.

Alliant’s depleted uranium manufacturing site in suburban Minneapolis is now a “superfund site” and the local community is fighting the company and the Pentagon over clean-up responsibilities.

Corporation website: www.atk.com [1] (access the 2007 annual report)

CEO: Daniel J. Murphy (Since 2003. Former Navy Vice Admiral with 30 year Naval career.)

Corporate Headquarters: Edina, Minnesota (near Minneapolis)

For Corporate watchers: Alliant has rent free mission and/or launch facilities at Commerce, Corona, Goleta, San Diego and Woodland Hills CA; Clearwater FL; Elkton MD; Elk River, Edina and Plymouth MN; Iuka MS; Albuquerque NM; Ronkonkoma NY; Dayton OH; Tullahoma TN, Fort Worth TX, Clearfield, Brigham City, and Magna UT; and Rocket Center W VA.

For Base watchers: Alliant also uses facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville AL; Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral FL; Vandenburg Air Force Base, Vandenburg CA and Picatinny Arsenal, Picatinny NJ.

Existing Non-violent Opposition: Alliant Action in Minneapolis-St. Paul MN holds weekly vigils at the Alliant corporate headquarters in Edina. Website is http://alliantaction.org/home.html [2] (some features require Adobe flash player). This non-violent action group takes credit for causing Honeywell to sell off its defense industries and leave Minnesota 20 years ago. However, Alliant, a Honeywell spin off, returned to the area and continues to grow rapidly. Alliant Action played seminal role in launching the Bite the Bullet: War Profiteering Education and Action Network in 2006.

This fact sheet was prepared by Frida Berrigan, Arms Control Resource Center of the World Policy Institute, and Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.