MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- British company BAE Systems has a won a contract for work on MK57 Vertical Launching Systems for Zumwalt class destroyers.
BAE Systems said in a statement this week that the $8 million contract could grow into a value of $64 million and that it had been awarded by the Raytheon Company "for the first two ship-sets of MK57 Vertical Launching System -- VLS -- for the U.S. Navy's DDG 1000 Zumwalt class of destroyers."
"The contract covers the continuation of design, integration, requirements verification, and the initial purchase of materials for the first two ship-sets. Work on this contract award begins immediately and continues until January 2012," BAE Systems said.
"This contract award is a significant milestone marking the transition from design into production," said Jay Dolan, MK57 VLS program manager at BAE Systems.
BAE Systems said the work would "be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cordova, Alabama; and Aberdeen, South Dakota."
"DDG 1000 Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers tailored for land attack and littoral dominance. DDG 1000 will provide forward presence and deterrence, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces," the company said.
"DDG 1000 Zumwalt is a key component of the surface combatant "family of ships" currently being developed by the Navy to serve as the backbone of tomorrow's surface Fleet. DDG 1000 Zumwalt provides a broad range of capabilities that are vital both to supporting the Global War on Terror and to fighting and winning major combatant operations. Zumwalt's multi-mission war fighting capabilities are designed to counter not only the threats of today, but threats projected over the next decades as well," BAE Systems said.
"The MK57 VLS is being developed under a collaborative partnership between Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems and BAE Systems. The MK57 VLS for the DDG 1000 is comprised of 20 peripherally distributed modules. Each module includes four cells," BAE Systems said.
