Aerojet Awarded Air Force Contract to Develop Advanced Technologies for Upper Stage Engines

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 2, 2004 -- Aerojet, a GenCorp Inc. (NYSE: GY) company, announced today the award of a contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Edwards AFB, Calif., for computational capability improvements in advanced technology upper stage engines. The three phase program begins with the development of a conceptual engine design, followed by a computational tools phase, and will conclude with a hardware and computational tools validation phase. The initial phase, valued at $1.8 million, has been awarded; the potential value of the total contract through the three phases, if all options are exercised, will be $46.8 million.

During the initial nine-month phase, an engine will be developed to meet the goals of the Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) program. The engine will be assessed to determine increased computational capabilities needed for rapid and accurate design of upper stage engines. Detailed plans will be developed for the acquisition of required analytical tools. Design requirements for a turbopump and thrust chamber needed to validate the tools will also be developed.

“We share the Air Force’s vision of a virtual test to enable rapid and accurate evaluation of the advanced technologies required to meet IHPRPT goals for maintaining American leadership in rocket propulsion,” said Ron Samborsky, Aerojet vice president of Business Development. “This contract award and its technology development goals is a key component in Aerojet’s strategic pursuits in Advanced Space Propulsion.”

The challenge during the initial phase will be to define a set of instruments for validation hardware that will collect sufficient data to determine the adequacy of the analytical tools. Following the completion of the initial phase, AFRL will choose a set of award options.

Multiple contract award options will be available. One option would include the acquisition of new computational tools and then provide them to the designers. Another series of contract options would include the design, fabrication, and test of a turbopump which will use the test data to validate turbomachinery tools. Another series of contract options would potentially include the design, fabrication and test of a thrust chamber and use of the test data to validate the thrust chamber tools. The turbopump and thrust chamber used to validate the tools will serve the purpose of demonstrating advanced component technologies that are critical to achieving future improvements in the performance of the upper stage.

“The development of a technology program for advanced turbopumps and chambers, enabled by the advanced computational tools, will enable Aerojet and the Air Force to develop higher performing engines quicker and with less risk,” said Tim Geoghegan, Program Manager - Advanced Programs. Aerojet has teamed with Rotordynamics-Seal Research of Loomis, Calif., Concepts NREC of White River Junction Vt. and Florida Turbine Technologies of Jupiter, Fla.

Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, and defense and armaments markets. GenCorp Inc. is a multi-national, technology-based manufacturer with leading positions in the automotive, aerospace, defense and pharmaceutical fine chemicals industries. For more information, please visit http://www.aerojet.com and http://www.gencorp.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements as defined under the federal securities laws, including statements about the value of the Upper Stage Engine Technology Program award. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the statements.

These and other risk factors are described in more detail in GenCorp's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2002 and its subsequent periodic and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional risks may be described from time to time in future filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All such risk factors are difficult to predict, contain material uncertainties that may affect actual results, and may be beyond GenCorp's control.

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