General Atomics won a $10.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to research and develop Integrated Power Systems (IPS). IPS provides total ship electric power including electric propulsion, power conversion and distribution, combat system support and mission load interfaces to electric power systems. Work will be performed in San Diego, CA and is expected to be complete by the Dec 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command inWashington, D.C., reported it received 14 proposals for the opportunity.
While General Atomics was founded in 1955, and is well known for designing power distribution systems used by the US Navy on its aircraft carriers, a spokesman for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston, SC, that issued the contract call (N00024-07-C-4012) said the contract is not specifically geared to any platform already under construction. Instead, the technology developed during the R&D phase will be integrated into future systems.