General Atomics gets $36.4 million contract for Advanced Arresting Gear components

Contractor Will Supply Components for Advanced Arresting Gear

The U.S. Navy awarded General Atomics a $36.4 million contract that includes specialized components for an aircraft recovery system on the new, Gerald R. Fordclass aircraft carriers.

The components are called water twisters. The machinery is part of the Advanced Arresting Gear system. With Advanced Arresting Gear, GA offers a technologically advanced way to absorb the force of an aircraft landing on a carrier deck, and bring the aircraft to a stop safely.

The deal calls for GA to deliver 18 water twister mod II shipsets for three vessels: the USS Gerald R. Ford, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy and the aircraft carrier Enterprise.

The contract — technically a contract modification — also provides for the development of logistics support products and the execution of engineering change proposals related to water twister mod II.

Some 56% of the work will be performed in Tupelo, Mississippi, where GA has a factory, while 26% of the work will be performed in San Diego. The balance will be performed in other locations. A small amount of work will be performed in Placentia, in Orange County. Work is expected to be completed in

August 2024.

The Naval Air Systems Command of Patuxent River, Maryland awarded the deal, announced on April 30.

Under separate contracts, GA is supplying an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System for the new class of aircraft carriers. EMALS uses a linear motor in place of a traditional steam catapult to launch an aircraft.

NuVasive Gets $27M Deal

The Defense Logistics Agency awarded San Diego-based NuVasive Inc. an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for spinal orthopedic procedural packages. The deal could be worth as much as $27 million. This is a sole-source acquisition, as the department concluded there is only one responsible source for the product. The contract includes one base year and four one-year option periods. Using customers are the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support office of Philadelphia awarded the contract, announced on April 30.

Order Puts Genasys Ahead

The U.S. Army awarded Genasys Inc. (Nasdaq: GNSS) an $18.3 million follow-on order for LRAD 450 XL systems. The device is able to direct a focused beam of sound and, under good conditions, deliver intelligible messages to people as far away as one mile. LRAD stands for Long Range Acoustic Device. “The Army and other U.S. military services continue to equip their forces with LRAD's unmatched long-range communications and scalable escalation of force (EOF) capabilities,” said CEO Richard Danforth. “This order demonstrates the Army's ongoing commitment to supplying its soldiers with advanced equipment that enhances communication and saves lives.”

As part of a communication and layered EOF strategy, LRAD systems increase the decision time and distance for military personnel to differentiate between security threats and non-combatants, and scale EOF accordingly. Genasys said this saves lives on both sides of the Long Range Acoustic Device.

The LRAD 450XL is a low profile, lightweight device designed to be mounted on tripods, vehicles, small vessels and Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS). Homeland security and law enforcement agencies also use it, as do international customers.

With this and previously received fiscal year 2021 orders, the company has already exceeded total fiscal year 2020 bookings.

“In addition to the Army order and the recently announced Riverside County, California mass notification and emergency management software services contract, several key awards are anticipated in the second half of our fiscal year,” said Danforth. “These awards, and other expected orders for Genasys Emergency Management software, Integrated Mass Notification solutions, and LRAD systems, have the company well-positioned for record fiscal year revenues and bookings.”

DAV Energy to Serve Corps of Engineers

The U.S. Army announced that three small businesses — DAV Energy Solutions Inc. of San Diego, National Facility Solutions LLC of Hastings, Minnesota and Specialized Engineering Solutions Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska — will compete for each order of a $9.9 million firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 19, 2026. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Honolulu awarded the contracts, announced on April 20.■