Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington are asking the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems segment in Williston, Vt., to provide MK82 gun and guided-missile directors and MK200 director controllers for the Navy Aegis shipboard weapon system for cruisers and destroyers.
The MK82 director receives commands from the MK200 controller to move the system's fire control antenna to illuminate targets and provide guidance to air-defense missiles designed to defeat anti-ship missiles and ballistic missiles.
This contract modification calls for General Dynamics experts to deliver MK82 and MK200 fire-control equipment to the South Korean and Japanese navies without adverse impact to scheduled ship deployments, Navy officials say.
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These components are part of the MK99 missile fire control system framework, which is a critical component of the Aegis weapon system. Aegis, not an acronym, is the name of the shield of the ancient Green sky and thunder god Zeus.
The Aegis weapon system is aboard Japanese navy Kongo-class destroyers, and aboard South Korean Sejong the Great-class destroyers. Aegis also is aboard U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers.
The MK82 and MK200 fire-control equipment uses the Raytheon AS-34444/SPG-62 antenna, which mounts on the MK82 with an elevation-over-train pedestal to provide space stabilization for the radar's line of site, General Dynamics officials say.
The antenna can move on two axes, and is unmanned with start, stop and reset controls located apart from the device. The director supplies train and elevation position data and radar line of site rates in traverse and elevation for the fire-control computer.
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The power drive includes a high-speed DC permanent magnet motor driving through a gear train that is spring preloaded to minimize backlash. Precision data assemblies in elevation and train provide plus or minus one-minute accuracy, company officials say.
The MK82 and MK200 fire-control equipment collectively weigh 2,700 pounds and use a 7.5-foot antenna. It can search the horizon for enemy threats at a rate of 72 degrees per second.
On this order General Dynamics will do the work in Saco, Maine, and should be finished by December 2021. For more information contact General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems online at www.gd-ots.com, or Naval Sea Systems Command at www.navsea.navy.mil.
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