Hughes Aircraft to Build Naval Display Systems

Hughes Aircraft’s Ground Systems Group has won a $400-million contract from the Navy to supply command and control displays for U.S., Japanese and Spanish warships, the company said Thursday.

Most of the displays will be built for the U.S. Navy, but about 11% of the displays will be sold to Japan and 1% to Spain. Hughes has been producing the AN/UYQ-21 display system for the Navy since the late 1970s.

The Fullerton division, with 8,900 employees, plans no new hiring because of the contract.

The system enables commanders aboard destroyers and other ships to monitor battles in progress on large display screens. The system digests data from radar and sonar and transmits it to the screens. It can track information about underwater, airborne and surface forces.

A key feature of the new system will be full-color displays, which should enable commanders to more easily identify objects on the screens.

Earlier this year, the Fullerton division laid off several hundred employees as various defense programs ended amid Pentagon budget cuts.