08 Aug 03. DRS Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: DRS – News) has received a contract award to continue development of Display Architecture Framework (DAF), a new Tactical Situation (TACSIT) display rendering application software, for the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Tactical Display Upgrade (ATDU) program. DAF provides the core display component for Aegis open-architecture modernization.
The $10 million contract was awarded to DRS by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT – News) Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems in Moorestown, New Jersey. The contract is the most recent award received by DRS for display system upgrades in support of the ATDU program, valued at approximately $23 million to date, including this latest award. Work for this order will be accomplished by the company’s DRS Electronic Systems unit in Gaithersburg, Maryland. This software will serve as a key component of the Navy’s open-architecture initiative and is expected to be the foundation for supporting future combat systems. The software is scheduled for delivery in September 2004.
“This award is pivotal for increasing our participation on the ATDU program and capturing a major role in providing open-architecture display software that will form the baseline for all future U.S. Navy combat systems,” said Steven T. Schorer, president of DRS’s Electronic Systems Group. “The contract leverages our expertise in the development of system architecture and application software, as well as our long-term performance on Navy combat display system programs. We remain dedicated to providing integrated electronic systems, software development and innovative technological improvements covering a spectrum of battle space dominance objectives.”
DAF presents battle space information display for combat system applications, accessing powerful Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) rendering engines previously unavailable through legacy display architectures. It enables new map and tactical symbol graphics through the use of a published/open Application Programming Interface (API) and isolates the Navy’s investment in applications from future changes in COTS rendering technology through a well-defined abstraction layer. DAF replaces Common Display Kernel (CDK) software currently supporting the Aegis Display System and provides major improvements to the application software by making it more maintainable, flexible and user-friendly. The DAF software will be implemented on U.S. Navy Aegis DDG-51 class ships, beginning with the DDG-103 Guided Missile Destroyer, and also is planned for use on CG-47 Ticonderoga class cruiser hulls as part of the CG COTS Refresh initiative. The ATDU DAF has both forward-fit and back-fit application for all display rendering supporting surface combatant displays.