Defense Industry Notes

Sea Power, Apr 2004

* Boeing Integrated Defense Systems has been awarded a $61 million contract modification from the Naval Air Systems Command for the second low-rate initial production run of the APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. The 12 APG-79s, built by Raytheon under contract to Boeing, will be installed on F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighters as part of the Block II upgrade to the aircraft. The APG-79 is designed for multitarget tracking and increased situational awareness, Boeing said in a release.

* Manitowoc Marine Group laid the keel of the Coast Guard's next Great Lakes icebreaker, the Mackinaw, on Feb. 10 at the company's Marinette Marine shipyard. The 240-foot-long, 3,500-ton cutter will replace an icebreaker of the same name that has served for nearly 60 years. The new Mackinaw, scheduled for delivery in 2005, will be based in Cheboygan, Mich., and perform ice-breaking, rescue, pollution control, homeland security and law-enforcement duties.

* Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded a $175.9 million contract from the Naval Air Systems Command for the third low-rate production batch of the Block IV version of the Tomahawk land-attack missile - the Tactical Tomahawk. Raytheon will build approximately 225 Tactical Tomahawks under the contract.

* Northrop Grumman Ship Systems laid the keel of the eighth Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, the Makin Island, on Feb. 14 at the company's Ingalls Operations shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. Silke Boie Hagee, the ship's sponsor and wife of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee, signed her initials on the keel plate of the ship. The Makin Island will feature many improvements over her seven sister ships, including gas turbine propulsion instead of steam power.

* Boeing Naval Systems has completed integration of the AGM-84K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land-Attack Missile-Expanded Response) cruise missile onto the Navy's P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The SLAM-ER - a precision-strike cruise missile with a range of more than 150 nautical miles - can be retargeted in flight, and uses the global positioning system and an infrared seeker for guidance. Boeing expects to complete modification of 59 P-3Cs with SLAM-ER capability by the end of 2004. In recent years, P-3Cs have launched AGM-84E SLAMs in combat against hostile targets in Kosovo, Serbia and Afghanistan. The SLAM-ER will increase the lethality of the P-3C as a land-attack platform. In a related development, Boeing has been awarded a $61.3 million contract from the Naval Air Systems Command to provide SLAM-ERs for the Republic of Korea.

* Electric Boat Corp. - a General Dynamics company - has been awarded a $149.3 million contract modification for the conversion of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Florida to a guided-missile submarine configuration, as well as for planning for the similar conversion of USS Georgia.

* Northrop Grumman Newport News has been awarded a $139 million contract to continue preparations for the refueling and comprehensive overhaul (RCOH) of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. The RCOH - which will extend the life of the ship to 50 years - was delayed a year and is now scheduled to begin in November 2005.