Harris wins Navy communications system subcontract

Harris Corp. won a three-year, $27.8 million contract from Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors to develop and integrate an undersea communications system.

The work is for the Navy's Advanced Deployable System, a coastal, undersea surveillance system that gives a joint-forces commander a continuous, reliable picture of activity over vast oceanic areas. Total contract value could reach $34 million if low-rate initial production options are exercised, beginning in 2007.

Harris will develop and integrate the communications that will link the system's sensor nodes with the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship platform. This broadband system permits operators on these ships to monitor simultaneously sensor data from up to six sensor nodes with a throughput aggregate of 9 Mbps at ranges of up to 30 nautical miles. The system also serves as the command and control link.

The initiative includes an underwater segment, a processing and analysis segment and a mission support segment. The Advanced Deployable System will enable detection of all types of submarines, including quiet diesel submarines, and other surface ships.

Harris of Melbourne, Fla., has more than 13,000 employees and had annual sales of $3 billion in fiscal 2005. The company ranks No. 23 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors, which measures federal contracting revenue.