Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract to supply the navigation and communication systems for nine new 35-meter patrol boats being built for the Iraqi navy.
The $19 million firm, fixed-price contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit by Swiftships Shipbuilders, LLC of Morgan City, La. Work on the contract will be performed by Northrop Grumman’s Ocean Springs, Miss., facility.

Under the contract, each of the vessels will be fitted with an integrated bridge system (IBS) based on Sperry Marine’s new-generation VisionMaster FT™ navigation technology. The IBS will include navigation radars and electronic chart display and information systems running on TotalWatch™ multi-function workstations. The package will also include Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Tactical Data Link, tactical communications, interior communications, and other navigation subsystems and sensors. The contract will also include engineering and technical support for installation, commissioning, testing and training.
“Sperry Marine is rapidly becoming a major supplier of IBSs for the growing international coastal and offshore patrol vessel sector,” said J. Nolasco DaCunha, Vice President of Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine. “We have designed the VisionMaster FT products with built-in flexibility to meet the unique space constraints, manning levels and operational requirements of patrol vessels engaged in coastal and offshore missions.”
Swiftships is building the nine coastal patrol boats for the Iraqi navy under a $181 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract from U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command. The boats’ hull and superstructure are aluminum alloy. The vessels are designed to operate up to 200 miles from shore, with four officers and eight crew members.

 

For full story, refer to the Feb/Mar 2010 issue of Al Defaiya.