NG to begin LCS module production

Northrop Grumman was awarded a $29 million Navy contract to begin production of three mission module packages for littoral combat ships. Two surface warfare packages and one anti-mine warfare package will be built at a location not yet determined. The first package is scheduled for early 2012 delivery and the others later that year. The current, initial mission packages were designed by the Navy's Warfare Centers in Panama City, Fla., Dahlgren, Va., and San Diego, where they were built. The LCS is based on a modular concept, where different packages can be used based on the mission. The mine countermeasures package, for example, includes the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, the Remote Minehunting System and the Fire Scout vertical takeoff unmanned air vehicle. The LCS can go to the port where mission packages are staged, off load its current package and replace it with a new one in a few days. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 11/04/10, Mobile Press-Register, 11/05/10) Gulf Coast note: Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., is one of two companies building LCS ships for the Navy; Northrop Grumman Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss; Northrop Grumman has both shipbuilding and aerospace operations in the Gulf Coast.