MELBOURNE, Fla., 27 Oct. 2005. Harris Corp. today announced that it was awarded a $4.4 million development contract by The Boeing Company to supply the Digital Memory Device (DMD) Mission Planning Interface (MPI) for the U.S. Navy's EA-18G aircraft.
The EA-18G, a variant of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, is slated to become the Navy's pre-eminent electronic warfare plane. Boeing previously awarded Harris an $11 million contract in 2004 for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G DMD.
The DMD is a lightweight, low-power, high-performance unit that interfaces to the aircraft's mission computer via the fiber-optic High-Speed Data Network (HSDN). It has a two-slot PCMCIA memory card data loader with embedded encryption/decryption capability. The MPI enables the ground-based mission planning system to write or read encrypted data to or retrieved from the PCMCIA memory cards for use during flight.
"The DMD and associated MPI are critical system components necessary to support the surveillance missions of the F/A-18," said Dan Pearson, president of the Department of Defense (DoD) business unit of Harris Corporation's Government Communications Systems Division (GCSD). "This contract reinforces our position as a premier developer of advanced avionics technology for the F/A-18 platform and many other fixed- and rotor-winged tactical aircraft for the DoD."
Harris GCSD conducts advanced research studies, develops prototypes, and produces and supports state-of-the-art, assured communications solutions and information systems that solve the mission-critical challenges of its military and government customers, while serving as the technology base for the company's diverse commercial businesses.
Harris Corp. is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. With headquarters in Melbourne, Fla., the company has annual sales of over $3 billion and has 12,600 employees, including 5,500 engineers and scientists. The company's four operating divisions serve markets for government communications, RF communications, broadcast communications, and microwave communications. For more information, see www.harris.com.
