General Dynamics [GD] said the Coast Guard has awarded the company a potential $10 million contract to upgrade the service’s Rescue 21 search and rescue system in Alaska.
Under the Alaska Phase 2 contract, GD will identify a cost-effective way to update existing radio equipment operating in 30 locations and evaluate the existing communications towers at each site. GD said the analysis will include radios with various roles, including those that provide digital selective calling, which mariners use in an emergency.
The upgrades will lead to improved clarity for voice calls and better use of radio spectrum for more reliable and efficient communication.
“Working side by side with the Coast Guard, the General Dynamics team will take advantage of the most innovative technologies, combined with a strategic implementation plan to ensure the long-term effectiveness of this life-saving system,” Bill Weiss, vice president and general manager who leads public safety initiatives at GD’s Mission Systems unit, said in a statement. “Rescue 21 Alaska operates in one of the most unpredictable maritime environments in the world, and being the prime contractor for the Rescue 21 Coastal System, we have an unparalleled depth of understanding of the system and the urgency of the U.S. Coast Guard’s maritime search and rescue system.”
In Alaska, Rescue 21 is deployed along the state’s coastline and the Aleutian Islands. The system is also deployed along the eastern, western and Gulf coastlines of the United States, the Great Lakes and other public and commercial navigable waterways, including the Great Lakes.