Raytheon Systems has been selected to upgrade mission systems aboard the Royal New Zealand Air Force's six Lockheed Martin P-3K Orions. The company has defeated rival proposals by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Raytheon was advised by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence of its preferred status at the end of September. But no official announcement is expected until after elections in late November.
New Zealand defence ministry officials concede that Raytheon is the only contender to be asked to prepare a best and final offer. The officials say that this will be submitted by Raytheon during the first quarter of next year.
The mission system upgrade, called Project Sirius, calls for a new airborne data management system, a replacement magnetic anomaly detector, the introduction of an electro-optical sensor suite, a new acoustic data processor, a new navigation system and new radar and electronic support measures suites. The upgrade is intended to extend the service life of the six aircraft until at least 2020.
The winning Raytheon proposal draws upon the mission system upgrade being fitted by the company on Royal Australian Air Force P-3Cs. Team members include Auckland-based Babcock Defence Systems New Zealand.
Source: Flight International