U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, has received a USD 574.5 million procurement contract for the production of the Aegis Weapon System MK 7 equipment sets in support of the DDG 51 Shipbuilding Program and an option for Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System, Host Nation Poland, and engineering services.
This procurement includes economic order quantity, advance procurement funding for production related materials for the multi-year procurement ship sets.
DDG 51 class also known as the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, presently under construction, provide a wide range of warfighting capabilities in multi-threat air, surface and subsurface environments.
Upon installation of the Aegis Combat System, the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) will permit the ships and aircraft to link their radars and provide a composite picture of the battle space, thus widening the theater space.
DDG 51 ships are driven by gas turbine propulsion, integrating four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines to produce 100,000 total shaft horsepower via a dual shaft design and thus reach 30 plus knot speeds in open seas.
Majority of the work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J. due for completion by September 2021.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, December 30, 2013; Image: Lockheed Martin