Noah Chelednik
BAE Systems has received a $76 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy to develop additional vertical launch system (VLS) canisters. The award raised the contract value to $306 million and requires BAE to produce canisters for the Mk 13, Mk 14, Mk 25, Mk 29 and other hardware for the service branch, the company said Tuesday.
The canisters are a critical component for storing, transporting and firing offensive and defensive missiles on the Navy’s guided-missile cruisers and destroyers.
“The VLS is a highly survivable and versatile system and our canisters play a key role in equipping the Navy with this world-class capability,” commented Brent Butcher, vice president of the weapon systems product line at BAE.
The VLS canisters can play multiple roles in Navy weapons systems. They can be containers for missile shipping and storage and launch tubes when loaded into the VLS. The canisters provide identification and firing support to multiple missile types, such as the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), Standard Missile-2, Standard Missile-3, Standard Missile-6, the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and the vertical launch anti-submarine rocket known as ASROC.
The contract covers purchases from the governments of Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain and Turkey under a foreign military sales program.
Work will be executed at BAE's production facility in Aberdeen, South Dakota, through 2023, with engineering and program support in Minneapolis. The contract's new modification permits BAE to add 25 jobs to its Aberdeen site.
“BAE Systems has partnered with the Navy and its allies for more than 30 years to provide them with the most flexible and reliable weapon systems to execute a variety of missions effectively, and we look forward to continuing that commitment with this VLS technology,” added Butcher.
