Navy picks Saab to develop sensor for shipboard missile launcher that defends ships from airborne threats

WASHINGTON – U.S. Navy shipboard electronics experts needed a tracker-illuminator to upgrade the Raytheon MK 57 NATO Seasparrow surface-to-air missile launcher aboard aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. They found their solution from Saab Inc. in East Syracuse, N.Y. Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington announced a $14.6 million order to Saab last month for the MK 9 Tracker Illuminator System (TIS) Replacement Continuous Wave Tracking Illuminator (CWTI) development and production effort. The order is part of a potential $104.8 million contract to Saab awarded in 2021. The contract is for engineering and manufacturing development (EMD), production,…