Ship Repair Executive Retires from United Defense

Contact:
Doug Coffey, Media
United Defense
doug.coffey@udlp.com
(703) 312-6121

Jackie Kreisler, Media
United States Marine Repair
(619) 557-4289
kreislerj@swmarine.com

ARLINGTON, VA, November 18, 2003 - United Defense Industries Inc. (NYSE: UDI) announced today the retirement of Monty W. Dickinson, Executive Vice President, Operations of United States Marine Repair and President and General Manager of Southwest Marine in San Diego.

Mr. Dickinson will continue to provide consulting services to United Defense after his retirement effective December 31, 2003.

Mr. Dickinson has been with Southwest Marine since 1999. He played an instrumental role in the expansion and growth of ship repair operations in San Diego and the establishment of United States Marine Repair (USMR) as the leading non-nuclear ship repair company in the United States. He led efforts which increased USMR revenue and profit by 50 percent and implemented numerous Process Improvements/Lean Six Sigma projects resulting in annual savings of $8 million.

"Monty has been instrumental to the growth of USMR these past four years," said USMR President, Al Krekich. "His several congratulatory messages from the Navy are for numerous customer oriented process improvements that will continue to set an industry standard."

“As a valued member of a strong USMR team, Monty established an employee culture focused on safety and exceptional customer service that will endure,” said Tom Rabaut, CEO of United Defense. “We wish him the very best in his retirement and future endeavors.”

The announcement of his replacement is anticipated shortly.

About Southwest Marine
Southwest Marine is a member of the United States Marine Repair (USMR) family of shipyards, a wholly owned subsidiary of United Defense. USMR ship repair facilities are located in Norfolk, Va.; San Diego, San Pedro and San Francisco, Calif.; Ingleside, Texas; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Mayport, Fla.

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, 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 10 K for the year ended December 31, 2002, the Quarterly Report on Form 10 Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003, and 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.