OREANDA-NEWS. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems has been awarded a contract by Austal USA to be the Platform Systems Engineering Agent (PSEA) of Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) 14 and 16. These are the fifth and sixth ships of the Independence-variant LCS to be ordered by the U.S. Navy under a 10-ship block buy contract awarded in December 2010 to Austal USA. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

As part of the Austal USA LCS Industry team General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ships’ electronic systems including the combat system, networks and seaframe control. The technology backbone for the core mission system is General Dynamics’ open architecture computing infrastructure (OPEN CI). With its ‘plug and play’ ability to quickly integrate new technology into ship systems, OPEN CI provides platform flexibility and quick configuration in response to dynamic and evolving Navy mission requirements.

“Ensuring that the Navy has the most capable and advanced systems available at the lowest cost is the goal we work toward each and every day,” said Mike Tweed-Kent, vice president and general manager of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems Mission Integration Systems division. “This award validates our ability to introduce new innovations quickly and easily using OPEN CI, helping to drive total ownership cost down throughout the LCS lifecycle and enabling interoperability across the fleet.”

With its highly flexible architecture, OPEN CI facilitates the integration of best-in-class commercially available products, quickly and cost-effectively.

This contract helps maintain a strong technical workforce at General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems facilities in Pittsfield, Mass., as well as in Mobile, Ala., Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey and California. Additionally, this work will continue to support more than 450 suppliers across the country.