� WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2019) The US Department of Defense has issued a new $72 million contract for MK 99 fire control equipment for the US Navy's Aegis Weapon System for missile defense, Raytheon said in a news release.
"Raytheon Company, Integrated Defense Systems [of] Marlborough, Massachusetts, was awarded a $72,463,134 ... for the production of Aegis Weapon System fire control system MK 99 equipment," the release said on Tuesday.
The system is a major component of the Aegis Combat System that controls the loading and arming of the selected weapon, launches the weapon, and provides terminal guidance for launched anti-aircraft warfare missiles, according to published reports.
First tested in the late 1960s as a missile defense platform for US Navy ships, Aegis was inherited by Lockheed Martin when it bought the system's developer, RCA. The US Navy presently uses the Aegis Combat System on its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
