More Hydra-70 rockets on way for U.S. military, allies

ST.PETERSBURG, Fla., July 21 (UPI) -- Additional Hydra-70 air-to-ground rockets are to be produced by General Dynamics for the U.S. military and Foreign Military Sales customers.

Production of the rockets by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems comes under two modifications by the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., to a 2014 contract.

"General Dynamics has been in continuous production of Hydra-70 rockets since 1996," said Dan Paul, vice president and general manager for precision systems, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. "Our Hydra-70 rockets provide the warfighter with firepower that is versatile, affordable and reliable in multiple combat roles."

The 2.75-inch/70mm rocket is an unguided weapon fired from a variety of platforms, including the U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the U.S. Marine Corps Cobra attack helicopter and the U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighter.

It comes in a variety of warhead variants and is in service with the military forces of 15 countries, not including the United States.

General Dynamics did not disclose the monetary value of the contract modifications.