BAE signs $79.8M contract with Navy for Pacific comms support

Jan. 15 (UPI) -- BAE Systems has signed a five-year, $79.8 million contract to assist the U.S. Navy in maintaining and operating electronic, communication and computing platforms across the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The program, which supports the Pacific's Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master, will continue to provide continuous operations and maintenance support for afloat and ashore operations, the company said in a press release Tuesday.

Most of the contract work will take place in Oahu, Hawaii, with additional functions performed in Geraldton, Australia.

"We are maintaining ship-to-shore, shore-to-aircraft, and shore-to-shore long-range communications systems," Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Integrated Defense Solutions business, said in a statement. "Our work is enabling naval, joint, agency and coalition forces to effectively communicate and operate across the Pacific and Indian Oceans."

As part of the contract, BAE Systems engineers will still service the U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System. The narrowband military communications satellite system offers enhanced and secure communications for all branches of the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.