NetFires to Build Precision Missile for the Littoral Combat Ship

By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor

A joint venture of Raytheon Missile Systems and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control — NetFires LLC — will build a surface-to-surface precision attack missile for use by the new Littoral Combat Ship as its primary armament against such targets as swarming small, fast boats.

NetFires has been awarded a $54.8 million contract for system design and development of the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS), developed jointly with the Army and Navy.

The NLOS-LS includes a container launch system that vertically fires the Raytheon-built Precision Attack Missile from canisters that also serve as shipping containers for the missiles.

The Precision Attack Missile, at 7 inches in diameter and 117 pounds, is designed to attack stationary or moving targets at ranges up to 40 kilometers. The missile is powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor and guided by a dual-mode uncooled infrared/semi-active laser seeker. Two-way data links allow for retargeting while the missile is in flight and for down-linking of target images to the launching platform.

The NLOS-LS also will be able to support ground forces ashore by engaging designated targets with precision strike, with minimal collateral damage.

The first ship to receive the NLOS-LS will be the Independence, the second Littoral Combat Ship and the first built by a team led by General Dynamics.

General Dynamics, Oshkosh to Mock-up JLTV

The Office of Naval Research has selected Oshkosh Truck Corp. and General Dynamics Land Systems to perform conceptual design of a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) for the Army and Marine Corps. Each company also will build a mock-up of their proposed design to help define a common set of requirements.

The JLTV will be a family of light wheeled vehicles possessing greater payload and improved survivability than the Humvees they are designed to succeed in the two services. The new vehicle will be built in five variants: combat tactical, command and control, utility, light infantry squad carrier and reconnaissance. The vehicles also will be equipped with trailers.

The JLTV will include armor and feature provisions for installing additional armor. The engine will be able to power all onboard electronics and charge cells to power the systems during extended periods requiring silence.

The design studies and mock-ups are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Defense Industry Notes

• Bath Iron Works — a General Dynamics company — and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems have been awarded Naval Sea Systems Command contracts worth $115.8 million and $95.8 million, respectively, for detailed design of the Zumwalt-class DDG 1000 next-generation destroyer.
• Lockheed Martin has demonstrated its new Volume-Search Radar antenna, which has been designed for the DDG 1000 destroyer, to the Navy. The three-dimensional S-band radar is designed to search for, detect and track missiles, aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
• The eighth and final Wasp-class amphibious assault ship built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems has been christened USS Makin Island at the company’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. Makin Island differs from its predecessors in that it is powered by gas turbine engines and electric drive, rather than steam turbines.
• The National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. — a unit of General Dynamics — has delivered the fourth and final double-hulled oil tanker to BP Shipping Ltd. The Alaska Legend will be used to transport up to 1.3 million barrels of crude oil per voyage from Alaska to ports in the continental United States.
• Northrop Grumman plans to design a fourth-generation version of the Litening targeting pod used by the Marine Corps’ AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft and F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters. The upgraded pod will feature an infrared sensor with improved detection and recognition ranges under day and night conditions, new two-way data links for transmission of target information to ground forces or other aircraft and improved target identification capability.