Date posted: 08/10/2007*

Raytheon has been awarded a $75 million indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to modify data link equipment for the U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter aircraft.

The weapons data link and associated support equipment are operational and training assets used to support the GBU-15 guided bomb unit and AGM-130 modular missile. Under the terms of this contract, Raytheon will develop, prototype, qualify, and modify the affected weapons data link equipment at the Raytheon Technical Services Company (RTSC) LLC Indianapolis facility.

“The services we will provide to the Air Force will further enable us to demonstrate our technical capabilities on a contract where cost and schedule will be critical success factors,” said Larry Parsons, RTSC program manager. “This is a good match for Raytheon and the Air Force. The contracting vehicle provides flexibility to the Air Force and at the same time it will lead to growth for Raytheon.” 

The Air Force’s requirement was brought about by the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act, which reallocates spectrum from governmental to commercial users.

The current frequency band has been sold to other frequency industry users. This change will affect all the AGM-130/GBU-15 Data Link Systems and associated test equipment. The purpose of the software and hardware changes is to incorporate the movement of the operational frequency for training and Weapons System Evaluation Program assets.

The Air Force has four years to vacate the 1710-1755 MHz frequency bands used for the training frequency for all weapons flown in the continental Unites States. Because several frequencies used by the F-15s fall into this spectrum, the F-15s’ equipment must be retuned to current military frequencies.

To accomplish this task, RTSC will modify the weapons data link associated with the GBU-15 and AGM-130 weapons programs; all aircraft pods, data links, and test sets will be modified to operate on both the training and operational frequency. Whenever the weapons are needed by warfighters, the operational frequencies will be used.

Under the terms of this contract, RTSC will also provide analysis, code integration, test, development and delivery of software, hardware, and associated documentation. This work is scheduled to be complete by June 2010.

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