IN Brief:
- Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems has received an $88.18 million modification to an existing US Navy submarine engineering contract.
- The work spans Manassas, Waterford, Groton, Middletown and Newport, with completion expected in December 2027.
- The government has identified approximately $13.22 million to be obligated at award from research and shipbuilding funds.
Lockheed Martin has received an $88.18 million modification to an existing US Navy contract for submarine systems engineering and integration. The work will be undertaken by its Rotary and Mission Systems business across five US locations, with the latest contractual period expected to run through December 2027.
The 12 November government contract notice values the modification at precisely $88,177,120 and identifies contract N0002425C6108. It describes a combination of cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only arrangements. This is additional work under a previously awarded contract, rather than a standalone submarine construction order or the purchase of a newly announced sensor system.
Manassas, Virginia, accounts for 68% of the stated work, followed by Waterford and Groton in Connecticut at 10% each. Middletown, Rhode Island, receives 7%, and Newport, Rhode Island, 5%. The geographic split indicates a distributed engineering programme, although the new notice does not assign individual subsystems or work packages to those locations.
Funding committed immediately is substantially below the modification’s headline value. The Navy states that $5,224,058 in fiscal 2027 research, development, test and evaluation funds and two separate $4 million allocations from fiscal 2025 and 2026 shipbuilding and conversion accounts will be obligated at award. Together those amounts total $13,224,058, with further expenditure governed by the contract’s funding arrangements.
The $88.18 million contract value and $13.22 million initial obligation describe different funding measures. A modification can define additional engineering activity over a future period without committing the entire value when it is signed. Here, the initial funding draws from research and development as well as shipbuilding and conversion accounts, with the published notice leaving subsequent obligations to the contract’s funding arrangements.
Earlier procurement documentation identifies the underlying effort as command, control, communications, computers, cyber, and intelligence systems engineering and integration for new and in-service submarines. It covers the management of technical interfaces and equipment refresh activity across complex submarine systems. The 12 November modification identifies the continuing engineering purpose, rather than a newly selected sonar, communications suite, or vessel construction programme.
Submarine systems integration is a continuing engineering task because sensors, processing equipment, communications and operator interfaces are introduced or upgraded on different schedules. The equipment must exchange information in defined formats and meet timing requirements, while software versions and hardware changes remain compatible with the submarine’s established configuration. An update to one subsystem can have consequences for others that rely on its outputs.
Before installation, changes to connected equipment can require laboratory or shore-based testing to show that data formats, timing, and fault responses remain within the accepted operating limits. Engineering teams must also maintain a configuration baseline that records which hardware and software versions have passed verification. Those controls become particularly important where several contractors provide interdependent subsystems.
Reliability requirements are influenced by the platform’s operating environment. Submarine equipment has to function with limited space, access, cooling and opportunities for repair when deployed. Electrical noise, electromagnetic compatibility and cyber security also need consideration when hardware and software from different suppliers are combined into a common system.
Submarines built at different times can carry different equipment baselines. A software change verified on a newer installation may need adaptation before use on older processing or communications hardware. Accurate records of each vessel’s configuration help prevent incompatibilities that may otherwise emerge only when integration moves from a test environment to the installed system.
The Navy’s integration contractor consequently needs to coordinate engineering changes with customer requirements and other equipment providers. Requirements, verification evidence and defect records must be traceable to the accepted configuration, while modifications made for new construction may require a different introduction sequence from those installed during maintenance periods.
Lockheed Martin’s Rotary and Mission Systems division works across undersea warfare, sensors, cyber technology, and mission systems. The Navy has not disclosed a product-level allocation of the additional $88.18 million or identified the subcontractors performing the new work. The contract funds engineering and integration, without assigning the value publicly to any particular sonar, periscope, or communications component.
Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity, coordinating submarine acquisition and in-service work alongside the relevant programme organisations. The five-location workshare provides a geographic outline of the activity but does not identify platform classes, installed-system delivery dates, or test results under this modification. Those details remain subject to the Navy’s individual programme and configuration decisions.
Engineering work is scheduled through December 2027 across Manassas, Waterford, Groton, Middletown, and Newport. With $13,224,058 initially obligated, the modification extends technical integration support while leaving the specific submarine equipment changes and acceptance milestones undisclosed.
