Navy To Award Lockheed Martin Sole-Source Contract For Frigate Combat Management System

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) intends to award a sole-source contract to Lockheed Martin for a combat management system for the future frigates, after the Navy determined the company is the only one capable of delivering the system without slowing down the rest of the acquisition program.

The current Littoral Combat Ship fleet is split evenly between Lockheed Martin’s Freedom-variant hull design with the Combat Management System Component Based Total Ship System – 21st Century (COMBATSS-21) system and Austal’s Independence-variant with a Northrop Grumman Integrated Combat Management System.

When the LCS program shifts to the frigate program, though, the Navy has said it wants to take the opportunity to whittle down to a single, common combat management system (CMS).

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