Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
10/17/2014
A $171.1 million contract awarded to DRS Laurel Technologies for the production and installation of support hardware for U.S. submarines’ combat control and sonar systems will also entail research and development for the hardware’s implementation on Ohio replacement SSBNs, according to NAVSEA spokesperson Matt Leonard. Awarded in late September by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, the contract initiates work on “Technology Insertion Hardware,” the latest generation of display, processor and network requirements for combat control and sonar systems. TIH will be installed in all 14 current operational Ohio-class SSBN’s, Leonard said in a written response this week.
The contract includes an option which could bring its value up to $384.3 million, but NAVSEA cited logistical challenges in defining how much of the work would be done specifically on SSBNs. “An exact percentage is difficult to pinpoint because there is significant commonality of both hardware and software delivered to each platform,” Leonard said. “Some unique SSBN work is required to integrate the provided hardware and software solutions onto the particular platform.” TIH was last updated in 2001, and work on this contract is expected to be completed by September 2019. DRS Laurel declined to comment on the contract.
