The US Navy has awarded a $41.1m contract for the procurement of missile launching canisters, which provide safe storage, transport, and launch capabilities for the mk41 vertical launching system (VLS), a standard shipborne missile-launching system.
As per the contract the company will supply mk13 mod 0 and mk25 mod 0 canisters to the US Navy and the governments of Japan, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Australia under the foreign military sales programme.
The mk13 canister is used to fire the Standard missile-2, block II and III while the mk25 canister is used to fire the evolved SeaSparrow missile (ESSM). Mk25 can house four ESSMs in a space normally occupied by one missile.
Work will be carried out at the company’s facility in South Dakota, and is expected to be complete by May 2011.
