Lockheed Martin Receives $67M Contract for VLS
Lockheed Martin has been awarded an initial $67 million contract to continue production, delivery and installation of the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for the U.S. Navy. The contract includes production of launchers for two Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) Aegis-equipped destroyers, as well as a major upgrade of five other destroyers already equipped with MK 41 VLS. An additional contract option of $129 million for U.S. Navy and Foreign Military Sales requirements in support of Korea’s KDX-III shipbuilding program could raise the contract's total value to $196 million. United Defense, L.P. of Aberdeen, SD, will be issued a major subcontract to produce major subassemblies for the MK 41 VLS, as will Metric Systems in Fort Walton Beach, FL.
MK 41 VLS Receives NAVSEA Award
In a ceremony yesterday attended by Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Baltimore County officials and senior U.S. Navy leadership, Lockheed Martin received the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Excellence Award for consistently exceeding design, production, and quality challenges as the prime contractor for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), installed aboard the U.S. Navy’s Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers. Capt. Mick Outten, U.S. Navy Program Manager for the MK 41 VLS, said, “I believe that the MK 41 VLS program is one of the great success stories of today’s modern Navy.” He continued, “The MK 41 VLS program is a model…
