The Pentagon announced on Monday that the Navy awarded a $4.4 billion contract to the Advanced Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University for defense and strategic systems work.
The contract will be conducted at APL facilities in Laurel, Maryland, and is part of work that could total as much as $10.6 billion through 2027, the Pentagon said in a contract statement.
The contract will be used for research, development, engineering, and test and evaluation for Pentagon programs. Details of the work under the contract were not identified.
The statement said the work will include test and evaluation of strategic systems; submarine security and survivability; space science and engineering; combat systems and guided missiles; air and missile defense and power projection; information technology, simulation, modeling, and operations analysis.
An APL spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The APL website said the lab is working on the new Ground-based Strategic Deterrent, the new land-based intercontinental ballistic missile that will replace the current force of Minuteman III ICBMs.
Work on the new strategic missile includes assisting the Air Force with targeting accuracy. Modeling and flight test simulation will allow the Air Force to meet accuracy goals with 11 tests instead of the 30 tests used in traditional approaches.
The funds also will be used for work on APL’s swarming unmanned surface vehicle kits that convert boats into autonomous, unmanned units of six vessels that can travel at speeds of up to 40 knots.
For submarines, APL has a program that “ensures our submarines stay hidden regardless of new technology, changing mission requirements, and increasingly sophisticated adversaries,” Pentagon officials said.
The program involves studying submarine detection and counter-detection through sea tests studying submarine stealth.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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