Argon ST, Inc., a major systems engineering, development and services company providing comprehensive C5ISR (command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems and services to a wide variety of defense and intelligence customers, announced that it has won a $6.2 million contract for engineering development in support of the U.S. Navy’s Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) program.
The contract, which modifies a standing contract, was received from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command to complete the engineering development model design, through critical design review, for the SSTD program’s AN/SLQ-25D system. The SSTD program is a defensive system development to counter specific undersea weapon threats to high value surface ships. The system consists of detection, control, and counter weapon subsystems.
Argon has served as the lead contractor in designing, developing and implementing the Torpedo Countermeasures Transmitting Set AN/SLQ-25 — commonly referred to as Nixie — since 2006. Initially contracted to design and field the AN/SQL-25C, a passive, electro-acoustic decoy system used to provide deceptive countermeasures against acoustic homing torpedoes, Argon will now focus on creating the upgrade to this important system.
Joe Carlin, Senior Vice President of Argon ST commented “The AN/SLQ-25D is the next generation of the AN/SLQ-25C. The basis of the specification for the AN/SLQ-25D is an open architecture. This new requirement is very strategic to the Navy’s ability to ensure interoperability with all of its ships subsystems. Additionally, the new AN/SLQ-25D will be able to serve as a host to other systems thereby supporting other information gathering and threat detection.â€
Kerry Rowe, President and Chief Operating Officer of Argon ST said, relating to the strategic value of the contract, “We are proud that the Navy continues to rely on Argon for one of its most critical programs. This new open architecture requirement will directly align Argon with the Navy’s future procurement strategy. Argon will not only have the opportunity to field the newly upgraded AN/SLQ-25Ds but will also be in a strategic position to use our work to develop new projects. Once widely deployed on the Navy surface ships, these systems will provide us a path to expand our footprint into other ship subsystems.†The effort is expected to be completed by September 2012, with most of the work being accomplished at Argon’s Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania facility with support from their corporate headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia and production facilities in Smithfield, Pennsylvania.
