ArmsTech

ArmsTech Industries, later known as AT Corp and AT Security, was one of the largest and most powerful defense subcontractors in the United States. The corporate headquarters was based in Seattle, Washington.

Origins
ArmsTech achieved rapid growth during the Cold War in what was a boom time for the arms industry, and became the second largest arms manufacturer in the world. ArmsTech was involved in the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and the rail gun, but they suffered an enormous financial loss when those projects were terminated after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent thaw between relations of the superpowers.

Moreover, although ArmsTech led the world in the development of stealth technology, they experienced tremendous economic difficulty because of their failure in their bid to manufacture the USAF's next line of main fighter planes, the Fighter Plane X. At this moment, Armstech was on the verge of bankruptcy, with rumors ensuing that it was the target of a hostile takeover of another weapons development company.

Metal Gear REX project
Circa May 1996, ArmsTech proposed the development of Metal Gear REX to DARPA, which became a secret Black Project. The Pentagon's Black Budget had earlier been freed up after the cancellation of the Arsenal Ship Project, following the death of CNO Admiral Boorda, during its second trials. Armstech heavily bribed the chief of DARPA Donald Anderson to back the REX program. They were creating REX to secretly promote a nuclear installation plan in an attempt to overcome a global trend of military downsizing. The rest of the Department of Defense also agreed to the development, namely because they were caught in a similarly bad financial state.

In 2002, ArmsTech proceeded with Metal Gear REX's construction at a nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island, Alaska. The project was overseen by ArmsTech chief engineer Hal Emmerich who was unaware he was developing a nuclear attack system, instead thinking that he was developing a machine to shoot down missiles for defensive purposes.

By early 2005, ArmsTech had created a new type of nuclear warhead to be used by Metal Gear REX, which was virtually undetectable to enemy defensive systems, and thus could not be intercepted. REX's secret development was divulged after an incident in which a rogue special forces group, led by the renegade FOXHOUND, planned on hijacking the weapon to achieve their own goals. This was thwarted by a lone mercenary hired by the government named Solid Snake. After the incident became public through the release of Nastasha Romanenko's In the Darkness of Shadow Moses, the ensuing controversy surrounding the incident and how it directly went against the Sears Administration's stance on nuclear disarmament and anti-eugenic policies led to the eventual resignation of President George Sears. The President of ArmsTech, Kenneth Baker, was on hand during the takeover to oversee the final testing of Metal Gear REX and died during the revolt as a result of FOXDIE, a genetically engineered virus that was also revealed in Romanenko's book. After the incident the specifications for Metal Gear REX were leaked onto the Black Market by Revolver Ocelot (and possibly Solidus Snake).

Shortly after the Manhattan Incident in 2009, ArmsTech shifted focus from weapons development to security tools, setting up AT Security. In 2011, ArmsTech was responsible for developing and implementing the SOP System, a system designed to keep track of all soldiers engaged in combat action, among other things. This, along with America now thinking twice before getting involved in other countries military affairs, paved the way for an abundant growth of private military companies. ArmsTech also developed the squad-based, unmanned versions of Metal Gear, code-named Gekko. At some point, Drebin 893 worked at ArmsTech, and it was believed that this was the reason why he was allowed to get away with laundering guns (in actuality, the reason he was allowed to do so was because the Patriots "let him").

Notable technology developed

 * Rail gun
 * Stealth technology
 * Metal Gear REX
 * SOP System
 * Gekko

Unconfimed history
ArmsTech Inc lost their bid to manufacture the USAF's next line of main fighter planes to one of their rivals, a stealth company, due to an unlawful relationship that existed between the latter and the Pentagon. However, the official reason given was due to the enormous costs of developing such a vehicle using advanced technology.

Behind the scenes
In Hideo Kojima's "Grand Game Plan" for Metal Gear Solid 2, it was originally intended that, after winning over the DARPA Chief, ArmsTech had arranged for the assassination of Admiral Boorda in order to advance the REX Project. Although this was not retained in the final game, the concept still existed in Nastasha Romanenko's novel In the Darkness of Shadow Moses, where she alluded to rumors about the connection between Boorda's death and the start of REX's development. Similarly, another reference to the rumors was originally planned for Scott Dolph's speech during the Tanker Incident, although it ended up being cut.

The ArmsTech logo makes a cameo appearance in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the bottomleft side of the covers for the briefing files. Whether this was intended to be an Easter egg, or an implication that ArmsTech had cooperated in the creation of the tape covers for the briefing files is unclear.

Appearances

 * Policenauts
 * Metal Gear Solid
 * Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots