By Geoff Fein Although the current plan for seven DDG-1000 class combat ships will see the construction price drop to almost $2.3 billion by the fifth ship, a Navy official said he could get the per hull cost even lower if he could build two a year. "I could get to the $2 billion range, […]
By Geoff Fein Raytheon [RTN] later this year will test its Laser Area Defense System (LADS) against mortars to demonstrate the military utility for lasers on the battlefield, a company official said. Raytheon first tested its LADS system, a laser that is coupled with the company’s Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System, back in 2006, Mike Booen, […]
Lockheed Martin [LMT] has achieved a key milestone in the development of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) with the successful completion of static loads testing of the first satellite in the program constellation, the company said. MUOS is expected to provide significantly improved and assured communications for U.S. mobile warfighters. The test, which validated […]
The Navy and the NATO Seasparrow Project Office recently awarded Raytheon [RTN] a $17.8 million contract for the MK57, MK29 and MK73 NATO Seasparrow missile systems, the company reported. Under the contract, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) will assemble, test, and deliver components and support for the systems, which enable critical self-defense capabilities for U.S. […]
By Geoff Fein Raytheon [RTN] is adding a data link to its AIM-9X Block I Sidewinder missile that will enable in-flight target updating of the missile, a Navy official said. Since entering full-rate production in 2004, the AIM-9X Block I has been a revolution in air-to-air missiles, Capt. Jeff Penfield, program manager for air-to-air missile […]
General Dynamics [GD] and the Navy have successfully integrated the Mission Package Computing Environment (MPCE) for USS Independence (LCS-2), the company said last week. The MPCE, which is located in the secondary integrated command and control room, provides the operator interface for the control and monitoring of mission package operations. GD started building LCS-2 in […]
The Navy needs to expand its investments in the "kill chain" to include more focus on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as command and control, according to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). Additionally, the service needs to maintain its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities through acquiring advanced systems as well as maintaining the skills […]
By Geoff Fein and Emelie Rutherford Facing a shortfall of at least 69 strike fighters by 2015, the Navy is undertaking a number of efforts to ensure that it will have a sufficient number of tactical aircraft before the arrival of the carrier variant of Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Much of […]
By Geoff Fein Although the Navy has ceased funding of Raytheon’s [RTN] Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM), the service remains committed to finding a solution for Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) as rapidly as possible. "A reassessment of this program will provide the Navy and Marine Corps with an opportunity to take advantage of advances […]
By Emelie Rutherford To address the daunting problem of lightening the load of gear carried by troops, the Marine Corps is working to treat the rifle squad as a combat system in which efficiencies can be found, according to the head of Marine Corps Systems Command. While industry and research shops play a large role […]
