PARIS, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is
being awarded a $46.5 million contract to remanufacture 16 Phalanx Close-In
Weapon Systems (CIWS) to the Block 1B configuration and produce four
additional Phalanx Block 1B upgrade kits for the U.S. Navy. This represents
the largest dollar contract to date for the Phalanx surface-mode upgrade. All
work is to be performed in Louisville, Ky., and will be complete by May 2004.
"This contract supports the Navy's transformation process to littoral sea
control with the deployment of CIWS 1B on all combat ships," said Dennis
Carroll, Raytheon's Phalanx program manager in Tucson, Ariz. "Phalanx Block
1B is our commitment to provide vital protection against threats ranging from
supersonic anti-ship missiles to small, fast surface craft. We in the Phalanx
community are proud to produce this critical capability for our Navy, sailors
and Marines."
"This considerable outlay of limited budget dollars is an indication of
how serious we in the U.S. Navy are about protecting the crews on our ships,"
said Capt. Albert G. Lang, Phalanx program manager for the U.S. Navy. "Nothing
is more important than our sailors and Marines, and the Phalanx Block 1B is
proven to be the best asymmetric threat protection we can provide."
Phalanx is a rapid-fire, computer-controlled radar and 20-mm gun system
that automatically acquires, tracks and destroys enemy threats that have
penetrated all other ship defense systems. More than 850 systems have been
built and deployed in the navies of 21 nations. Most recently, Phalanx Block
1B was installed aboard the USS Howard (DDG-83) and the USS Bulkeley (DDG-84),
among the U.S. Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers.
"The Block 1B surface mode provides both a radar and a thermal image for
identification and rapid tactical actions in the cluttered near-shore,
littoral environments," said Lang. "This system protects ships and their
crews against an increased number of threats including standard and guided
artillery; helicopters; floating mines and a variety of shore-launched, anti-
ship missiles. It is especially effective against the swarming attacks of
small, fast gunboats."
With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon Company is a global
technology leader in defense, government and commercial electronics, and
business and special mission aircraft.
Contact:
John Eagles
In Paris during Euronaval: 06 24 51 84 81
In the U.S.: 502.364.6768
SOURCE Raytheon Company
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Related links:
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
John Eagles of Raytheon Company,
+1-502-364-6768
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