ANAHEIM, Calif., 2 Dec. 2006. Interstate Electronics Corp. (IEC) in Anaheim, Calif., a wholly owned subsidiary of L-3 Communications Corp., won a $27.2 million U.S. Navy contract to operate and maintain test instruments for the Trident II (D5) submarine-launched ballistic missile.

The contract, awarded this week, includes spares and related support equipment for the Trident II submarine-launched nuclear missile. The contract number is N00030-07-C-0010.

The contract involves operating and maintaining Launch Area Support Ship (LASS) Flight Test Support System, the M250 test missile radio frequency set, and M240R Data Recording System (DRS).

Interstate Electronics experts will monitor and provide recommendations and updates to the formal training materials, documentation, hardware, and software in the Trident II Strategic Weapons System (SWShttp://mae.pennnet.com/articles/article_display.cfm?Section=ONART&C=ONEWS&ARTICLE_ID=278005&KEYWORDS=Trident%20II&p=32) training program.

Work will be in Anaheim, Calif., and should be finished by May 2008. Awarding the contract was the Navy Strategic Systems Programs office in Arlington, Va.

The Trident II D-5 missile represents the sixth generation of the Navy's fleet ballistic missile program, which included the Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident I submarine-launched nuclear missiles. The first deployment of Trident II was in 1990 on the ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee (SSBN 734).

The Trident II D-5 is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertially guided submarine-launched nuclear missile with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles.

All three stages of the Trident II are made of light, strong, stiff graphite epoxy. Adding to the missile's range is the aerospike telescoping outward extension that reduces frontal drag by about 50 percent.

Trident II is fired by the pressure of expanding gas in the launch tube. When the missile attains sufficient distance from the submarine, the first stage motor ignites, the aerospike extends, and the boost stage begins. Within about two minutes, after the third stage motor ignites, the missile moves faster than of 20,000 feet per second.