April 2/07: BAE Systems in Minneapolis, MN announces its second contract from General Dynamics to supply a 57-mm Mk 110 naval gun system as the main gun fitted to the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship [LCS 4]. The contract is worth $7.2 million, and includes options such as spare parts and training. The gun is scheduled to be delivered in 2008.
The gun’s Mk 295 ammunition allows the system to perform against aerial, surface or ground threats, with a firing rate of up to 220 rounds/minute. The Mk 110 is designed to have minimal deck penetration, and can be operated directly or by remote control. BAE Systems has now received 3 contracts from the LCS program contenders, for a total of 4 gun systems…
For the LCS program, the first gun was delivered to Lockheed Martin in March 2006 for USS Freedom [LCS 1], and a second gun will be delivered in September 2007 for installation on the LCS 3 as its main armament. A third gun was delivered to General Dynamics in December 2006 for the Independence [LCS 2].
According to Gizmag, Another 3 contracts have come from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater program for the large National Security Cutters; The USCG received its first Mk 110 in January 2006 for the National Security Cutter and a second gun was delivered in December 2006.
Further contracts expected as ships of the Navy’s DDG 1000 destroyer (close-in gun system) and the Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (main armament) are produced. Once in full-rate production, the Mk 110 will be manufactured at BAE Systems’ facility in Louisville, Kentucky.