Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded BAE Systems a $2.68 billion contract to procure full rate production Lots 8-12 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II units.
The APKWS generally modifies existing standard 2.75-inch rockets by turning them into precision weapons. This is accomplished by installing a guidance kit between the unguided rocket engine and the warhead.
The contract announcement specified it procures WGU-59/B units to upgrade the current 2.75-inch rocket system to a semi-active laser guided precision weapons. These weapons will be used by the Navy, Army, Air Force, and foreign military sales requirements for Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the Philippines. Tunisia, and the UK.
Work will be split between Hudson, N.H. (54 percent) and Austin, Texas (46 percent) and is expected to be finished by December 2025.
The announcement noted no funds were obligated at award time, with funds only obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued.
The contract was not competitively procured pursuant to the U.S. Code, with only BAE considered.
This is the latest in a chain of APKWS awards for BAE. In February, the company won a $225 million delivery order to procure 9,999 additional Lot 7 APKWS II units for the U.S. military, the Netherlands, and Nigeria (Defense Daily, Feb. 7).
At that time, Marc Casseres, BAE’s director of precision guidance and sensing solutions, told Defense Daily that “we’ve demonstrated that we can ramp up production and deliver this capability to the customer on time and at scale.”
He added their supply chain, manufacturing capabilities, and infrastructure investments enabled them to meet an increasing international demand.