Navy Continues Operational Support
Contract for Ocean Surveillance Ships
BACKGROUND
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed
Martin received an $85 million, one-year contract from the U.S. Navy in
July to continue operations and
maintenance support of five ocean
surveillance ships as part of the its
anti-submarine warfare mission. The
ships are operated by Military Sealift
Command. The contact includes
four one-year options. Maintenance
primarily is performed at commander, Fleet Activities, Sasebo, Japan.
Other locations include the United
Kingdom and Virginia Beach, Va.
SCOPE
Lockheed Martin will support the
Surveillance Towed Array Sensor
System (SURTASS) program and
provide sustainment and logistics
management for all installed anti-submarine warfare mission systems,
including passive and active surveillance equipment and computer network systems. The UQQ- 2 SURTASS
is a cable-mounted array of acoustic
hydrophones that provide long-range, passive detection and surveillance of quiet nuclear- and diesel-powered submarines, and real-time
reporting of contacts.
U.S. NAVY
The Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System, a cable-mounted array of
acoustic hydrophones used to detect submarines, is visible on the stern of the
Military Sealift Command ocean surveillance ship USNS Able, shown here dur-
ing a visit, board, search and seizure exercise in the Pacific in May 2009.
TIMELINE
The original contract was signed in
2001 and now has been picked up
three times at a total value of more
than $177 million. The operations
and maintenance support for the
ocean surveillance ships is on a
round-the-clock, year-round basis.
WHO’S WHO
Mike Swanson is program manager,
surveillance towed array sensor systems program, at Lockheed Martin.
The primary area of this contract is performance and, more specifically, providing the operational ability. By providing operations support to the installed communication equipment, computer and mission
systems we are allowing the military to focus on their requirements.
Providing them with these resources allows them to focus on their primary
core mission and not worry about other mitigating factors.
The dynamics of providing 24/7 support on the high seas makes this contract different than past ones we have worked on with the Navy. It’s a very
exciting environment, both for workers who enjoy being out there and the
management teams who assist in making sure everything runs smoothly.
As a retired Sailor, it’s very rewarding to be able to assist in providing
this 24/7 capability for the fleet. Every day is a challenge to not only support the team in the field but also bring the proper personnel in and make
sure those people are trained and qualified to do the work and then be able
to sustain them in getting out there to the ships and supporting them
while on the mission.
Teams that are on the ships do a number of tasks including deploying
and retrieving the SURTASS and providing maintenance work on it when
needed. The teams also help with using, operating and fixing the cyber
security and communication systems. The skill set that the team brings to
the Navy crosses many different platforms. We have the Navy’s back in
providing this capability and it’s very rewarding to us that they have
trusted us so long.
