Defense industry notes

Sea Power, Sep 2003

* GE Aircraft Engines received a $510 million Naval Inventory Control Point contract for the repair and replacement of internal engine components for the F404-400/402 engine that powers the F/A-18 strike fighter.

* National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.-a General Dynamics unit-has been awarded a $287.6 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract modification for the design and construction of a fourth Lewis & dark-class dry cargo/ammunition ship (T-AKE), bringing the contract's value to $1.3 billion. Company spokesman Jim Scott said in a release that functional design work on the first ship of the class-which will replace the Military Sealift Command's ammunition ships (T-AEs) and combat stores ships (T-AFSs)-is nearly complete and that construction will begin in September 2003, with delivery scheduled for 2005.

* Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard-located on the site of the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard-has launched its first ship. The 712-foot diesel-powered containership M/V Manukai-built for Maison Navigation for service between California and Hawaii-was christened by Margaret Inouye, wife of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii).

* Northrop Grumman has obtained a $42.3 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract for upgrades and technical support to the Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers.

* Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems obtained a $105.1 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract modification to provide transmitters, fire control systems, and associated Aegis SPY-1D radar equipment and support for two U.S. Navy, one Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and three Republic of Korea Navy destroyers.

* Boeing has been awarded a $24.4 million Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center contract for Lot 4 of low-rate initial production of the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, including 22 units for the Navy's F/A-18 strike fighters. The system allows pilots to lock missiles onto targets by tracking the targets with the helmet visor.

* Raytheon Aerospace LLC won an $85.7 million Naval Air Systems Command contract to provide logistics support for the Navy's T-45 Training System, which is used to train tactical jet pilots for the Navy and Marine Corps.

* Lockheed Martin Systems Integration received a $17 million Naval Air Systems command contract for the purchase of long-lead-time components for the second low-rate initial production hatch of six MH-60R Seahawk multimission helicopters.

* Telelogic has announced that its DOORS requirements management software has been selected by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems to support the systems integration of the Navy's next-generation destroyer program, DD(X). DOORS captures, links, traces, analyzes, and manages changes to information to ensure that the project complies with specified standards.