Weapon enhancement

HII Books $74M Task to Boost US Navy Ships’ Vertical Launch System

HII’s Mission Technologies division has secured a $74 million contract to enhance the capabilities of the Mk 41 and Mk 57 vertical launching systems of U.S. Navy surface vessels.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Port Hueneme Division administers the task order, which also covers Navy weapon and combat systems, as well as sensors. The tasks include providing the first Zumwalt-class destroyer with Mission Technologies’ latest Mk 57 VLS universal canister electronics unit, designed to ensure missile firing from any of the system’s cell onboard same-class vessels, HII said Tuesday.

The contract, which is for five years, is a recompeted task order under the Department of Defense’s Information Analysis Center Multiple Award Contract vehicle. Most tasks will be done in Syracuse, New York, and Arlington, Virginia. The NSWC Port Hueneme job is a work extension under a previous contract booked in 2021.

Todd Gentry, Mission Technologies’ C5ISR business group president, conveyed HII’s delight in continuing the support to the Navy, particularly to NSWC Port Hueneme. Technology insertion into naval weapons and combat systems provides U.S. warfighters “a distinct advantage over adversaries,” Gentry said.