United Defense Earns CMM® Level 4 Rating for Software Development at Minneapolis Facility

Contact:
Jeff Van Keuren
United Defense, Public Affairs
(763) 572-7615
jeff.van.keuren@udlp.com

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, June 10, 2003 - United Defense (NYSE: UDI) has achieved a Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model® Level 4 rating for software at its Armament Systems Division (ASD) facility in Minneapolis.

“Our customers are increasingly seeking high maturity software development expertise when placing contracts for key weapon systems, and United Defense is answering that call with continuing improvements in our software development process and skills,” said Keith Howe, Vice President and General Manager of the Armament Systems Division of United Defense.

Over the past eight years Armament Systems Division has seen a dramatic evolution from a manufacturing to an engineering development environment at its Fridley facility. Associated with this evolution has been a major change in skills mix of engineers, as well as enhanced capabilities in modeling and simulation, virtual prototyping, and systems integration environments.

“Continual improvement in our systems, software, and integrated product and process development processes are necessary to remain competitive, and our achievement of Level 4 in software is a clear indication of our progress to date," said Bill Chen, vice president for Engineering.

The Level 4 rating was achieved after a comprehensive examination of ASD’s software development engineering process at its Minneapolis facility by a Software Capability Evaluation (SCE) team chartered by the U.S. Navy. Over a two-week period, the SCE team members evaluated software capabilities in three major division programs encompassing both Navy and Army products, in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI).

CMM® and Capability Maturity Model® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

About United Defense Industries, Inc.
United Defense designs, develops and produces combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and precision munitions used by the U.S. Department of Defense and allies worldwide, and provides non-nuclear ship repair, modernization and conversion to the U.S. Navy and other U.S. Government agencies. 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2003, 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.