Worldwide investments in CLUSTER MUNITIONS

for surveillance and component testing of the CBU-87 munition systems. The contract with a total value
of US$3,540,000 was first awarded in September 2013 and expires in September 2016. 61 A supplemental
agreement was awarded in February 2015. 62
ATK is the designer and producer of the rocket motor for the Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW), produced by
Textron Systems (see section 1.1.7). We consider the SFW to be a cluster munition under the definition of
the Convention on Cluster Munitions. ATK produces a key component for this type of cluster munitions.
The following information on ATK’s contribution to the SFW was available on the ATK website in February
2010: “The BLU-108 submunitions released from the Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) are propelled by an ATK
Missions Systems designed and produced rocket motor. The SFW was designed specifically to provide upward
axial thrust and rotational torque to the BLU-108 submunition, releasing the skeet warheads at the end of
motor burn. The upward thrust and rotational torque is achieved by utilizing dual tangential nozzles in the
ATK rocket motor. The SFW is the first smart air-to-surface munition to enter production for the U.S. Air Force.
The SFW, a 1,000-pound class weapon, contains ten BLU-108 submunitions, each with four smart Skeet warheads,
for 40 warheads. Designed for stand-off deployment from a wide variety of aircraft, SFW’s versatility and
superior lethality make it a weapon of choice for anti-armor, destruction of enemy air defense, and many
other combat missions.” 63 This information was removed from the company website in 2011.
However, as a supplier of an important component of the SFW, ATK has been involved in several SFW
contracts concluded by Textron Systems with the US Air Force. In March 2006, Textron Systems announced
that it had been awarded a US$108 million contract by the US Air Force for its Fiscal Year 2006 procurement
of the SFW. The three-year contract was part of an on-going long-term pricing agreement (LTPA). Overall,
Textron Systems would deliver approximately 6,500 SFWs to the US Air Force by the end of 2013. 64
The most recent US Air Force contract with Textron we found for the SFW is a “$92,938,707 firm-fixed-price
contract modification” dated 31 January 2007 which “provides for 291 Sensor Fuzed Weapons (SFW) Full
Rate Production, Lot 12 option exercise.” 65 This same contract was modified in February 2009 for an
additional US$9,527,490 worth of SFWs. According to the US Department of Defense, “This action will
provide 30 additional Sensor Fuzed Weapons, Full Rate Production Lot 12. At this time, the entire amount
has been obligated. Eglin Air Force Base is the contracting activity.” 66
Since July 2004, Textron also sells SFWs to other countries, mostly under US Foreign Military Sales (FMS)
contracts. Receiving countries include India, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The most recent agreement with South Korea dates from May 2014, with an additional order announced
in July 2015. 67 In May 2014, a contract update was made for the Indian programme. 68 For more details,
see section 1.1.7. As an important component supplier, ATK was likely involved in these contracts.
In several annual reports from the past few years, ATK confirmed that it was involved in SFW supplies to the
US Air Force. 69 In its report for the fiscal year ending March 2013, it states that: “ATK’s sole-source contracts
accounted for 65% of U.S. Government sales in fiscal 2013 and include the following programs: (…) Sensor
Fuzed Weapon propulsion systems, (…).” 70 The SFW program is not mentioned in the 2014 or 2015 annual
reports. 71
In August 2013, the Council on Ethics for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global decided to stop
considering ATK a producer of cluster munitions because the company no longer advertises production of
CBU-87/B cluster munitions and BLU-108 submunitions. 72 However, Orbital ATK did not respond to requests
for information about its activities in relation to the SFW propulsion system. 73 Despite removing information
about its rocket motor for the SFW from its website, we keep Orbital ATK on the red flag list because there is
evidence that the company has been manufacturing this key component for the SFW cluster munition after
May 2008. The company confirmed this when its 2013 annual report referred to the SFW propulsion system
as one of its sole-sourced contracts with the US government. Orbital ATK has, to our knowledge, not publicly
stated that it will end its involvement with the rocket motor for the SFW within the coming 12 months.
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