Sparton De Leon Springs LLC, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems of America LLC, together with two other companies, were awarded an estimated aggregate joint ceiling of $5.1 billion for firm-fixed-price modifications to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract to supply sonobuoy capabilities to the U.S. Navy. According to the U.S Department of Defense, no funds were obligated at the time of award. It is clarified that the aforementioned ID/IQ is a frame agreement with a joint potential maximum ceiling for all three qualified companies. There is no certainty as to the value or timing of orders to be issued under the ID/IQ or any allocation between the companies.
The new buoy type, the AN/SSQ-125A (Q-125A) which was recently officially qualified, was developed by ERAPSCO after 24 months of effort. The Q-125A will provide advanced active sonar capabilities to the U.S. Navy fleet of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft and will further the U.S. Navy’s ability to counter stealthy modern submarines from our foreign adversaries. Featuring digital signal processing and compass capabilities, the A-size, expendable AN/SSQ-125 MAC sonobuoy enables airborne navy personnel to perform bearing verification, target localisation and tracking.
In addition, the underwater signalling and receiving device enables the operator to accurately detect very quiet diesel submarines or a underwater vessels in attack mode even in adverse conditions. Capable of generating a variety of waveforms, the AN/SSQ-125 can be used to locate and identify acoustic emissions or reflections from enemy submarines and transmit signals to the navy airborne anti-submarine warfare forces. Before being deployed, the AN/SSQ-125’s RF channel can be programmed to any of the standard sonobuoy operating channels and can be changed to its operating parameters or in depths, generate a ping, or scuttle while on a mission.
The companies have an opportunity to compete for individual orders and funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. Sparton is a world leader in the design, development, testing and production of complex maritime electronic systems, including sonobuoys in support of Anti-Submarine Warfare, submarine deployed products supporting Undersea Warfare, and depth-rated encapsulated systems to support Subsea and Seabed Warfare. Sparton’s advanced technology expertise is focused on rapid development of custom solutions for use in harsh, maritime environments deployed from a range of undersea, surface and air platforms.
