$114.1M to Upgrade BMEWS Thule
The Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon Co., of Woburn, MA a cost-plus-award-fee letter contract. This contract is to upgrade the early warning radar at Thule Air Base, Greenland. Thule is part of BMEWS (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System). The not-to-exceed award value for this effort is $114.1 million, covering April 2006 – September 2010. The principal place of performance will be at the Raytheon Co. in Woburn, MA, but work will also be performed at Thule Air Base, Greenland (HQ0006-06-C-0012).
A corporate release notes that Raytheon IDS will integrate new electronics, computer hardware and mission software to upgrade the existing two-faced, phased array antenna facility at the remote site. Raytheon will also support integrated tests of the upgraded radar, performing both missile defense and legacy missions. The Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) program upgrades existing PAVE PAWS and Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radars by adding missile defense capabilities while retaining legacy missile warning and space surveillance missions. A key sensor for the MDA’s Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), UEWR is designed to provide midcourse target detection and tracking for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense portion of the BMDS to protect the U.S. from ballistic missile attacks.