Loral awarded $60 million U.K. Ministry of Defence contract to perform submarine Tomahawk missile integration.MANASSAS, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 4, 1995--Loral Federal Systems-Manassas, a division of Loral Corporation Loral Corporation was a small Bronx defense contractor on the verge of bankruptcy when in 1972 it was acquired by Bernard Schwartz, who over the course of the next two decades built it into a major player in the global aerospace and defense industry, acquiring sixteen other defense (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :LOR LOR Letter Of Reprimand (military) LoR Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) LOR Learning Object Repository LOR Linux.Org. ), has been awarded a contract worth approximately $60 million by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to incorporate long-range cruise missile cruise missile, low-flying, continuously powered offensive missile designed to evade defense systems. Although the German V-1 (1944) was a simple cruise missile, the cruise missile did not realize its potential until the 1970s, when the United States sought to capability into the Royal Navy's Trafalgar and Swiftsure submarines. The Royal Navy Tomahawk tomahawk [from an Algonquian dialect of Virginia], hatchet generally used by Native North Americans as a hand weapon and as a missile. The earliest tomahawks were made of stone, with one edge or two edges sharpened (sometimes the stone was globe shaped). full development and production contract positions Loral for future combat systems integration on the Ministry's Batch Two Trafalgar Class submarines and for other international Tomahawk integration opportunities. Under the 68-month Royal Navy Tomahawk full development, production and weapon systems integration contract, Loral will develop and produce kits for seven submarines, an integration laboratory, an operations and maintenance trainer and two command team trainers. Each kit will consist of an Advanced Tomahawk Weapons Control System (ATWCS ATWCS Advanced Tomahawk Weapon Control System ), fire control hardware and software modifications, weapons handling and discharge modifications, shipboard ship·board n. 1. The condition of being aboard a ship: on shipboard. 2. Archaic The side of a ship. adj. inertial navigation modifications and a new pressure vent control system. In March of this year, Loral was awarded a competitive, three-month study contract worth approximately $1.8 million from the Ministry of Defence to develop the design and specifications to integrate the Tomahawk capability. In October, Loral was chosen as the prime contractor for full development and production and is teamed with Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Ltd. (VSEL VSEL Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (UK) VSEL Vertical-cavity Surface Emitting Laser ) of the United Kingdom, which will provide the ATWCS component packaging, and Loral Librascope of Glendale, Calif., which will provide Tomahawk system engineering and safety expertise. Other key British subcontractors include Ultra, which will provide the fire control hardware modifications; Strachan and Henshaw, which will provide weapons handling and discharge modifications; and Ferranti, which will furnish fire control software modifications. Sperry Marine of Charlottesville, Va., will provide shipboard inertial navigation modifications. The Tomahawk missile mission planning system and the advanced weapon control system software are being supplied to the U.K. as a U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sale, which was approved in October, and paved the way for Loral's prime integration contract. The first integration kit will be installed into Ultra's Loudwater System Test and Integration Facility for acceptance prior to the first boat installation and sea trial. Loral Federal Systems will share installation responsibilities on the first three submarines with refit contractors from the U.K. The Ministry of Defence is expected to issue a separate follow-on contract to a refitting contractor for installations on boats four through seven. Loral Federal Systems-Manassas provides systems integration services, and designs and manufactures information systems, sonar and combat systems, simulation and training systems, advanced technology processor products and space systems. Loral Corporation, headquartered in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , is a high- technology company that primarily concentrates in defense electronics, communications, space and systems integration. CONTACT: Loral Corporation Gail Smith, (703) 367-4440 |
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