General Dynamics AIS Awarded $19 Million for U.S. Navy F/A-18 Mission Computers

: Posted On Friday, 15 March 2013 10:08

Naval Defense Industry News - USA

General Dynamics AIS Awarded $19 Million for U.S. Navy F/A-18 Mission Computers

The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems a $19.3 million contract to produce Type-3 advanced mission computers (AMC) for the F/A-18E/F and E/A-18G Super Hornet aircraft. General Dynamics has delivered F/A-18 advanced mission computers since 2002. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Salty Dogs of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23
(picture: US Navy)

The AMC is the nerve center of the Super Hornet, providing situational awareness and combat systems control to the flight crew. A ruggedized, high-performance, high-reliability mission and display-processing system, the AMC can process high-speed data flows from the latest sensor technologies. The system performs general purpose, input/output, video, voice and graphics processing, and it is designed to operate in the extreme environmental conditions of today’s high-performance fighter aircraft.

“Last year we hit a major milestone with the delivery of the 1,500th advanced mission computer to the U.S. Navy in support of the Super Hornet program,” said Lou Von Thaer, president of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. “Our long-standing commitment to outfitting this world-class aircraft with our open architecture has provided the Navy with the ability to cost-effectively address obsolescence, increase flexibility and strengthen performance capabilities.”

An EA-18G Growler from the "Shadowhawks" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141 is stopped by an arresting gear wire after landing aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73)
(picture: US Navy)

General Dynamics uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products and an open architecture to allow for rapid technology insertions to enhance capability and keep lifecycle costs down. This contract will be performed primarily at the General Dynamics facility in Bloomington, Minn., where it is supported by more than 125 employees. This work under this contract will be completed by the end of 2014.