Torpedo designers at the Raytheon Co. Integrated Defense Systems segment headquartered in Tewksbury, MA, needed wiring harnesses
for the company's MK 48 submarine-launched torpedoes and MK 54 surface
ship- and aircraft-launched torpedoes. They found their solution from
electronics contract manufacturer LaBarge Inc. in St. Louis.
Raytheon
awarded a $2.6 million contract to LaBarge to provide wiring harnesses
for the MK 48 and MK 54 torpedoes -- the first time LaBarge has
supplied parts for the two torpedo programs.
Primarily launched
from submarines, the MK 48 is a heavyweight torpedo for anti-submarine
and anti-ship warfare in shallow- and deep-water environments. The MK
54 is a lightweight torpedo that can be launched from surface ships,
helicopters, or fixed-wing airplanes to track, classify, and destroy
submarines in deep and shallow waters.
LaBarge will make the
wiring harnesses at the company's Berryville, AK plant, and should be
finished in December 2011. Raytheon makes torpedoes at the company's
Torpedo and Readiness Center, co-located with the U.S. Naval Undersea
Warfare Center Division in Keyport, WA, as well as at the Raytheon
Seapower Capability Center in Portsmouth, RI.
On the Web: YouTube video of MK 48 torpedo hitting decomissioned U.S. Navy destroyerOriginal News
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