Navy plans ship combat systems upgrades

Raytheon Co. will do the systems engineering for the Navy’s ship self-defense systems under a $23 million contract.

Under the contract, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems will manage the integration of upgrades to carrier and amphibious ship combat systems and also provide ongoing support for fielded systems, company officials said today. Besides systems engineering, the work also includes configuration control, testing, training and logistics.

The contract covers installations on next-generation aircraft carrier CVN 78, the new Tarawa-class ship LHA 6, and the Whidbey Island-class LSD. Raytheon also will install the Zumwalt-class destroyer’s Dual Band Radar onboard CVN 78.

Raytheon’s ship self-defense systems use an open, distributed approach to combat management. Its purpose is to accelerate the sequence in which ships can detect and react to incoming missiles. It does this by linking and automating stand-alone sensors and weapons systems.

The company will do the work in San Diego and Portsmouth, R.I.