Raytheon to provide high-speed SATCOM antennas for U.S., U.K., and Australian nuclear submarines
SAN DIEGO – Satellite communications (SATCOM) experts at the Raytheon Co. will provide the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australian navies with high-speed SATCOMantennas for submarines under terms of a $25.8 million order announced late last month.
Officials of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego are asking the Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems segment in Marlborough, Mass., to provide six Submarine High Data Rate (Sub HDR) antenna systems.
The Sub HDR antennas provide submarines with high-capacity communications in the extremely high frequency (EHF) and super high frequency (SHF) SATCOM bands and enables reception of Global Broadcast Service messages.
The Sub HDR connects submariners to the above-sea world by giving them high data rate, multi-band SATCOM capability. Submariners deploy Sub HDR by raising a mast-mounted antenna above the ocean's surface, while the submarine remains submerged at periscope depth where the boat is difficult to detect.
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The system can send and receive mission-critical information such as secure wideband multi-media, voice and data traffic, imagery, and video teleconferencing. Sub HDR enables underwater forces to participate in coordinated fleet battle group operations.
This order is a modification to an April 2015 $89.1 million contract for 25 Sub HDR) antenna systems. This contract has options that could bring its value to an estimated $114.7 million. The order is 62 percent for the U.S. Navy, 16 percent for the United Kingdom Royal Navy, and 22 percent for the Royal Australian Navy.
On this order Raytheon will do the work in Largo, Fla.; Marlborough, South Deerfield, and Stow, Mass.; Fairfield, N.J.; Portsmouth, N.H.; Woodland Hills, Torrance, and Carlsbad, Calif.; and Lititz, Pa., and should be finished by November 2019.
For more information contact Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems online at www.raytheon.com, or SPAWAR at www.spawar.navy.mil.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
