The US Navy has awarded a contract to URS Corporation to provide construction services at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, in support of the land-based Aegis Ashore Missile Defense programme.

Included in the $129m contract is for URS to install a radar deckhouse, support building, launch pad, electrical power and potable water systems, a sewer connection, as well as synthetic natural gas and communications systems.

The company will also perform related work to test a weapons system installed at Moorestown.

The 15-month deal follows the US Navy’s previous global multiple award construction (GMAC) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to URS in July 2009.

"The land-based system has been designed to be removable for support deployment across the globe."

Aegis Ashore, the land-based component of the ballistic missile defence (BMD) system, enhances the present and future Aegis BMD capabilities to adapt to the evolving ballistic missile security environment.

It will also support US phased, adaptive approach (PAA) phases II, III and IV for missile defences in Europe.

Following the certification, the land-based Aegis Ashore will install a system in Romania as part of the PAA phase II, as well as in Poland as part of the PAA Phase III in 2015 and 2018 respectively.

The land-based system has been designed to be removable for support deployment across the globe, while each Aegis BMD upgrade enables enhanced capability to counter ballistic missile threats.