SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY : Hughes Bidding to Be Sole Producer of Torpedoes for Navy

A Hughes Aircraft Co. unit in Fullerton is counting on winning additional contracts to produce torpedoes for Navy submarines.

In January, Hughes Ground Systems Group received a $110-million Navy contract to produce 121 Advanced Capability, or ADCAP, torpedoes, bringing the value of current ADCAP contracts at Hughes to more than $1.1 billion. The company manufactures the torpedoes in Fullerton and in Forest, Miss.

Company spokesman Dan Reeder said the contracts are increasingly important as the company prepares for leaner times. At the end of April, the group employed 8,377 people, down 554 from 8,931 in December.

Hughes is competing with Westinghouse Electric Corp. for a contract to be the sole producer of the ADCAP. Currently the Navy uses both companies as suppliers. The Navy is expected to announce the winning bidder in January, 1992.

“To stay in the torpedo business in the next couple of years, we need to have that contract,” Reeder said.