A seven-year, £47 M contract has been awarded to BAE Systems by the UK Ministry of Defence to provide support for the Combat Management System (CMS) on the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Argus. The JSS is being delivered by BAE Systems employees in New Malden, Dorchester, Frimley and Portsmouth, UK.

The CMS assists a ship's command in detecting and countering threats to the ship and any surrounding forces by managing all relevant external and internal information provided by the ship's radars. It integrates this information with the activities of the anti-air weapons systems as well as other sensors and weapons.

This latest contract is part of a larger initiative entitled the Joint Support Solution (JSS) contract that integrates the Type 45 support contract, awarded to BAE Systems in September 2009. The JSS provides a common support framework for the CMS on the Type 45 destroyers, Type 23 frigates and RFA Argus, all of which are supplied by BAE Systems. The JSS extends efficiencies to new CMS deployments on future naval ships including the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, providing the Royal Navy with a cost effective long term support solution.

Dave Twitchin, Head of Maritime Combat Systems DE&S, said. “JSS is a shining example of the benefits that can be achieved through joint working between DE&S and industry in the maritime combat systems domain. This was far from a straight forward piece of work and is the result of innovative thinking and months of sheer hard graft. The result is clear evidence of the benefits that can be delivered by working together to achieve a single shared objective of delivering front line capability at reduced cost and improved quality.”

David Leitch, Naval Command and Information Systems Director at BAE Systems Mission Systems, commented, “This contract generates further significant through-life cost savings to the Royal Navy through management and engineering efficiencies. It will achieve the objectives of the Combat Management System Convergence strategy established by the MoD and BAE Systems.”