The U.S. Navy today awarded a contract to a Bath Iron Works-led team for the construction of Coronado (LCS 4), the second Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to feature an innovative, high-speed trimaran hull. The 419 ft surface combatant ship, equipped with open architecture-based combat systems and computing environment developed by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, will be manufactured by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. It is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in May 2012. Bath Iron Works is a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD).
The Littoral Combat Ship is a key element of the Navy's plan to address asymmetric threats of the 21st century. Intended to operate in coastal areas, the ship will be fast, highly maneuverable and geared to supporting mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare, particularly against small surface craft. The Navy's first trimaran LCS, Independence (LCS 2), is in the final stages of construction and testing in preparation for its upcoming sea trials.
This contract will support more than 500 jobs in Austal's Mobile shipyard, as well as more than 100 employees of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath and Mobile, and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Pittsfield, Mass., Mobile and other locations.
The ship's open architecture computing environment, another key factor in meeting the U.S. Navy's requirements for a flexible, reconfigurable mission ship, enables industry's most capable, affordable, non-proprietary solutions to be incorporated into the its core mission system. This computing environment, developed by the General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems team, provides a highly flexible information technology backbone that allows plug-and-play integration of both the core systems and the LCS mission modules. It meets Navy open architecture requirements, strictly adheres to published industry standards and facilitates the integration of commercially available products. It also allows for future growth and seamlessly integrates combat-system components to create a core mission system solution that dramatically lowers acquisition and lifecycle costs.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor for the General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team. Partners include Austal USA (Mobile, Ala.); BAE Systems (Rockville, Md.); General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (Fairfax, Va.); L3 Communications Marine Systems (Leesburg, Va.); Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (Baltimore, Md.); and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (Baltimore, Md.).
(www.gd.com)