BAE Systems nabs Navy high frequency transmitter deal

BAE Systems has won a $35.4 million contract from the Office of Naval Research to provide high frequency transmitters for a jointly funded phased array antenna system, the company announced today.

Under the contract, BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems Inc. of Nashua, N.H., will provide 132 high frequency transmitters for installation in the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program's phased array antenna system.

The program collects and assesses data to advance knowledge of the physical and electrical properties of the Earth's ionosphere. Under a previous contract, BAE Systems designed and built the Ionospheric Research Instrument, the program's primary tool for studying ionospheric physics. The instrument is currently composed of 48 antenna elements and has a power capacity of 960,000 watts.

When installed, the additional 132 transmitters will give the program a 3.6 mega-watt capacity. The Air Force, Navy and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency jointly fund the build-out.

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems is a unit of BAE Systems North America Inc. of Rockville, Md. The company has about 25,000 employees and annual sales of $4.4 billion. The company ranked No. 12 on Washington Technology's 2004 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.