BAE Systems Awarded Vertical Launching System Contract for DDG 1000 Destroyers Potentially Worth $64 Million
MINNEAPOLIS - BAE Systems was awarded an $8 million contract - which has the potential to increase up to $64 million - from Raytheon Company for the first two shipsets of MK57 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for the U.S. Navy's DDG 1000 Zumwalt class of destroyers.
The contract covers the continuation of design, integration, requirements verification, and the initial purchase of materials for the first two shipsets. Work on this contract award begins immediately and continues until January 2012.
"This contract award is a significant milestone marking the transition from design into production," said Jay Dolan, MK57 VLS program manager at BAE Systems.
Work will be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cordova, Alabama; and Aberdeen, South Dakota.
DDG 1000 Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers tailored for land attack and littoral dominance. DDG 1000 will provide forward presence and deterrence, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces.
DDG 1000 Zumwalt is a key component of the surface combatant "family of ships" currently being developed by the Navy to serve as the backbone of tomorrow's surface Fleet. DDG 1000 Zumwalt provides a broad range of capabilities that are vital both to supporting the Global War on Terror and to fighting and winning major combatant operations. Zumwalt's multi-mission warfighting capabilities are designed to counter not only the threats of today, but threats projected over the next decades as well.
The MK57 VLS is being developed under a collaborative partnership between Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems and BAE Systems. The MK57 VLS for the DDG 1000 is comprised of 20 peripherally distributed modules. Each module includes four cells.
