FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jul 13, 2009
San Diego, C.A., July 13, 2009. General Atomics (GA) is pleased to announce the award of a not-to-exceed $32,727,170 contract from the Department of the Navy, NAVSEA, partially funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to develop a proof-of-concept Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) system for a full-scale demonstration with an initial funding increment of $13,000,000. HED will improve the operating efficiency of the engineering plant on DDG 51 Class Ships and is intended to provide the capability for significant fuel savings, up to 12,000 barrels of fuel per year, per ship, by incorporating advanced electric machine technology. This research and development effort of a new technology supports the national defense imperative to reduce dependence on foreign non-renewable energy resources.
The contract was competitively procured under a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). GA is developing the HED system in partnership with DRS Technologies. As GA’s major subcontractor, DRS will leverage their expertise in naval power distribution, machinery control, motor drive, and permanent magnet motor technology to provide advanced electric machinery for this program.
GA’s Electromagnetic Systems (EMS) division Vice President, Mr. R. Scott Forney, sees this effort as a significant long-range contribution to national defense and sustainability objectives. “This is one of several programs that EMS is involved in that is aimed at improving the Navy’s present and future posture.”
General Atomics is a San Diego-based innovation firm with a 50-year history of successful solutions for environmental, energy, and defense challenges. Affiliated manufacturing and commercial service companies include General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., which produces the Predator® family of unmanned aircraft systems.
DRS Technologies, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., is a leading supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces, intelligence agencies and prime contractors worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica S.p.A. (FNC.MI), which employs more than 73,000 people worldwide. For more information about DRS Technologies, please visit the company’s website at www.drs.com.
For further information contact:
Joel Patton
Director, Strategic Business
Electromagnetic Systems Division
(703) 682-6838
Joel.Patton@gat.com
http://atg.ga.com/EMS
Doug Fouquet
Public Relations
(858) 455-2173
Doug.Fouquet@gat.com