Ramona Adams
The U.S. Navy has awarded a $42.3 million contract to Boeing and a $43.2 million contract to Lockheed Martin to design an extra large unmanned undersea vehicle platform as well as deliver a technical data package.
The contracts represent the first phase of the competitive Orca XLUUV acquisition program and include priced options for the project’s second phase, the Defense Department said Thursday.
Both companies are scheduled to complete work by December 2018.
The Navy wants an XLUUV platform with a modular, open architecture that can integrate with mission payloads, according to a FedBizOpps summary.
The Naval Sea Systems Command received three proposals for the project and the service branch will obligate $16.6 million each to Boeing and Lockheed at the time of award.
Boeing teamed up with Huntington Ingalls Industries to chase the Orca program.
