The INSIDE TRACK

The U.S. Air Force has selected Boeing as the prime contractor for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) guidance subsystem support. The contract is worth up to $1.6 billion over 16 years, will be primarily performed in Ogden, Utah, and Heath, Ohio, and is expected to support a significant amount of direct and indirect jobs in the area.

Boeing will maintain the around-the-clock readiness and accuracy of Minuteman ICBM guidance systems — which have logged more than 40 million hours of continuous operation — to ensure safe, secure, and effective strategic deterrence into the late 2030s.

“We built the Minuteman’s guidance system, so no one knows it like Boeing. Our highly-specialized facilities and top-flight engineers enable us to sustain it with unmatched quality and precision,” said Ted Kerzie, program director of Strategic Deterrence Systems. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Air Force on this all-important mission.”

Raytheon Intelligence & Space to deliver Joint Precision Approach and Landing System to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

JPALS ensures enhanced safety and increased operational capability for aircraft

Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, was awarded a foreign military sales contract to deliver the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System, or JPALS, to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office (PMA213). The software-based, high-integrity differential GPS navigation and precision landing system will be deployed on the JS Izumo, the JMSDF’s carrier.

The JPALS system guides aircraft onto carriers and amphibious assault ships in all weather and surface conditions and is integrated into the F-35.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been engaged with the U.S. Navy and Japan to deliver enhanced safety and increased operational capability to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, ensuring landing accuracy every time for pilots regardless of weather conditions,” said Denis Donohue, president, Surveillance and Network Systems at RI&S. “We have so far delivered 22 systems to the U.S. Navy on time or ahead of schedule, and we look forward to continuing that success for Japan.”

JPALS is deployed on all U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. All F-35 aircraft are enabled with the JPALS capability. In addition, JPALS is deployed on two international platforms: the UK Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the ITS Cavour, an Italian aircraft carrier, to support their F-35 squadron.

Primary work locations for this effort are in Largo, Florida, and Fullerton, California.