How it started
History
ATK was launched as an independent company in 1990 after Honeywell spun off its defense businesses to shareholders. The former Honeywell businesses had supplied defense products and systems to the U.S. and its allies for 50 years, including the first electronic autopilot for the B-17 aircraft's bombing missions during World War II.
In 1995, ATK entered the aerospace market with the acquisition of the Hercules Aerospace Co., a division of Hercules Inc. Since then ATK has become a supplier of aerospace and defense products to the U.S. government and its allies, and to their contractors. It also carries on the manufacture and sale of the Hercules gunpowder lines.
In 2001, ATK acquired Thiokol, renaming it ATK Launch Systems in 2006, though it was still known within the industry by its original name. Thiokol was the sole manufacturer of the reusable Solid Rocket Motor used to launch the NASA Space Shuttle, which is being adapted for NASA's Space Launch System.
Also in 2001, ATK entered the sporting and law enforcement ammunition market with the acquisition of the ammunition businesses of Blount International. This acquisition made ATK the nation's largest manufacturer of ammunition.
In 2009, ATK acquired Eagle Industries and in 2010 ATK acquired Blackhawk Industries Products Group Unlimited, LLC, diversifying into the security and law enforcement market.
From Wikipedia’s article on Alliant Techsystems, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3