General Dynamics‘ (NYSE: GD) missions systems business will modify the Knifefish unmanned undersea vehicle into the Block I configuration and provide engineering support services under a $72.8 million contract from the U.S. Navy.
The Department of Defense said Friday General Dynamics Mission Systems is expected to finish retrofitting five UUVs, which were delivered to the service branch as part of a $44.6 million contract modification, by April 2023.
Nearly three-quarters of work under the recent contract will be performed in Quincy and Taunton, Massachusetts, while the remaining 26 percent of it will be conducted in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The contract will be covered by Navy’s other procurement funds and research, development, test and evaluation budget.
Navy received the first Knifefish in March under the contract modification for the surface mine countermeasure UUV’s low-rate initial production. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed in August.
The medium-class mine countermeasure platform is equipped with a low-frequency broadband sonar and an automated target recognition software for detection and identification of buried, bottom and volume mines. It is based on the Bluefin-21 undersea vehicle and is capable of being launched from a littoral combat ship.
GDMS secured a Milestone C approval for the Knifefish in August 2019.
