Navy awards Raytheon $28 million contract for new anti-sub radar
NewsMay 23, 2017
TEWKSBURY, Mass. Raytheon Company has earned a U.S. Navy contract to provide the new Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class. The VDS is intended to be a mission-critical antisubmarine warfare asset that will reside on and be deployed from LCSs to locate and track enemy submarines.
The contract -- worth $27.9 million -- was awarded following a study and product-assessment phase during which Raytheon proved that its sonar solution's features and capabilities would meet the Navy's design and performance requirements.
This newly designed sonar system design -- identical for both LCS variants (Freedom class and Independence class) -- offers reduced weight to minimize ship impact, allows flexibility for increased maneuverability, and enables increased warfighting payloads. Raytheon also states that the VDS is easier to operate than previous sonar systems, thereby boosting crew efficiency and operational effectiveness.
Under the terms of the current Raytheon is set to advance its design to a full Pre-Production Test Article, which is expected to be finished in late 2018. The contract also includes production options, which -- if exercised --could bring the total value of the contract to more than $300 million.
