WASHINGTON, 21 Dec. 2011. U.S. Navy leaders needed an electronics contract manufacturing specialist to build signal data processor-Sierra (SDP-S) systems for the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) program, which blends radar information from several different Navy systems to create one common air defense tactical display, or "air picture," which is based on all sensor data available. They found their solution from Sechan Electronics Inc., Lititz, Pa.Officials of U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington awarded Sechan a $64.2 million contract Monday to manufacture (SDP-S) production units and engineering support services for the CEC program. The prime contractor for CEC is the Raytheon Co. Network Centric Systems segment in St. Petersburg, Fla.The SDP-S includes the Sierra II cryptographic chip designed by the Harris Corp. RF Communications division in Rochester, N.Y., which helps the CEC meet cryptographic modernization requirements and use commercial-off-the-shelf components to create an open-systems architecture, Navy officials say. The SDP-S, which is the core of the CEC system, provides the processing power necessary to fuse the radar sensor tracks from several different radar systems on the ground, in the air, and at sea.
