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The US Navy has awarded a cost-plus-award-fee contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) to support and modernise Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) Aegis-guided missile cruisers.
Under the $83.3m contract, the company will provide lifecycle engineering, modernisation and support services for the frigates.
The latest contract is the first of five options and is expected to rise to $468.2m if all are exercised.
The CG 47-class cruisers modernisation programme aims to enhance the service life and fighting capabilities for the US Navy for another 20 years.
Equipped with the Aegis Combat System, which includes electronic sensors and weapons systems, the Ticonderoga-class ships are integrated with AN/SPY-1 multifunction radar, command and decision system (CDS), Aegis display system (ADS) and weapon control system (WCS).
Capable of engaging anti-ship missile threats, the vessels are armed with two mk41 vertical launch systems (VLS) integrated with eight Boeing/Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles each.
In addition to a triple 324mm-tube torpedo launcher, capable of launching the mk46 mod 5 torpedo and mk50 torpedo, the frigates can fire 32kg shells in a maximum target range of 22km using two BAE Systems mk45 127mm/54 guns.
Powered by four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines, the Ticonderoga-class ships also feature Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-1 air search and fire control radar, Cardion surface search radar AN/SPS-55, as well as four Raytheon AN/SPG-62 fire control radars.
Work under the contract will be performed in Pascagoula, while waterfront support will be provided by HII at US Navy ports in Norfolk, Mayport, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, US, and Yokosuka, Japan.
Image: US Navy’s Ticonderoga-class frigate, USS Port Royal (CG 73) set sail for deployment. Photo: US Navy photo by photographer’s mate 2nd class Johnnie R Robbins.
