The Army Awards Letter Contract to United Defense Steel Products Division's M113 Upgrade Contract

Contact:
Cindy Garrison
Contract Administrator
(256) 235-9848
cindy.garrison@udlp.com

ANNISTON, AL, April 2, 2003 - United Defense Industries, Inc. (NYSE:UDI) announced the award of a U.S. Army Letter Contract for up to $14 million to upgrade 77 Command Post Carriers to the M1068A3 Standard Integrated Command Post (SICPS) Carrier.

The M1068A3 allows for greater speed and mobility, has improved driver controls and is modified to accommodate the next generation of automated command and control hardware. It is a member of the prolific M113 family of vehicles, which the U.S. Force depends heavily on for combat support and combat service support.

United Defense will produce these vehicles in partnership with the Anniston Army Depot. "The depot and United Defense have the longest running partnership for vehicle production and considered the model for all such partnerships," said Tim Balliett, Program Manager.

In addition to the vehicle upgrade program, Steel Products produces military track shoes, torsion bars and suspension components for armored vehicles, as well as other forged products for the mining, oilfield and valve markets. The Division also has a spares business, which provides spare parts to the military for the various armored tracked vehicles produced by United Defense.

About United Defense Industries, Inc.
United Defense is a leader in the design, development and production of combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and precision munitions used by the U.S. Department of Defense and allies worldwide, and is America's largest non-nuclear ship repair, modernization and conversion company. To learn more about United Defense Industries, Inc., visit http://www.uniteddefense.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Information in this release may involve guidance, expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to United Defense Industries, Inc. as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences. Please refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 2002, and in our other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a further discussion of the factors and risks associated with our business.