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Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems received a $50.3 million U.S. Navy contract modification for upgrades to the Aegis missile defense system, the Defense Department announced. The contract, announced Tuesday by the Pentagon, calls for ship integration and test of the Aegis Weapon System for AWS Baselines through the system's latest upgrade, known as Advanced Capability Build 16.
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Lockheed will provide Aegis shipboard integration engineering, Aegis test team support, Aegis modernization team engineering support, Ballistic Missile Defense test team support, Aegis ashore support and AWS element assessments for a variety of vessels.
The integration and testing includes AWS ship integration and test efforts for nine new construction DDG 51 class ships, also known as Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and the major modernization of seven other DDG 51 class ships.
The Aegis Combat System is an advanced command and control and weapon control system using computers and radar to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. Its Mark 41 Vertical Launch System is available in different versions, with missiles varying in size and weight, for self-defense, tactical and strike purposes.
Advance Capacity Build refers to upgrades in the computers used to integrate the system's AN/SPY-1 radar, MK 99 fire control system, weapons control, the command and decision suite, and SM-2 Standard missile group.
About half the work on the contract will be performed in Lockheed's Moorestown, N.J., facility, 12 percent of the work will be done in Romania and most of the rest at locations around the United States, with a completion date of September 2024.
