Navy chooses SESCo to build communications transponder in $15.2 million SPAWAR contract
SAN DIEGO, 17 July 2013. U.S. Navy communications experts needed a contract manufacturer to assemble, test, and package the U.S. government's Communication Transponder Family of Systems (CT FoS). They found their solution from Systems Engineering Support Company Inc. (SESCo) in San Diego.
The Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific in San Diego awarded a $15.2 million contract to SESCo for production, assembly, testing, and packaging of CT FoS hardware, which consists of printed circuit board products, electronic components, and external enclosures. A circuit board with all components installed is called a communication transponder unit (CTU).
SESCo is joining Design West Technologies Inc. in Tustin, Calif., which won a $20.9 million contract for the CT FoS assembly and test contract. The CT FoS assembly contracts to SESCo and Design West were announced Monday.
SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific is responsible for developing and building the CT FoS under the sponsorship from several government organizations.
The Navy is asking SESCo and Design West to use state-of-the-art manufacturing processes for CT FoS assembly and test, and to use commercial best practices in project management and documentation, production tracking, RF and electrostatic discharge-sensitive (EDS) components handling, and board inspection.
Among the reasons that SPAWAR chose SESCo and Design West for the job is for the expertise of the two companies in surface mount technology (SMT) and EDS component handling, SMT reflow and wave soldering, ultrasonic welding, ball grid array assembly, printed circuit board fabrication, and automated component installation, Navy officials say.
The Navy is asking SESCo and Design West to destroy all communications transponder circuit boards that fail any test and are not repairable by sawing them in half and returning the pieces to the Navy.
Among the circuit boards that SESCo and Design West will assemble and test are the model-C motherboard, model-C RF board, model-C interface board, future packaging motherboard, future packaging RF board, and future packaging interface board.
SESCo will do the work on this contract in San Diego, and should be finished by July 2018. For more information contact SESCo online at www.sescoinc.com/newcms, Design West Technologies at www.dwtusa.com, or SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific at www.spawar.navy.mil.
