IBM, CISCO Systems Join DD 21 Blue Team To Support Us Navy's 21st Century Destroyer Program
WASHINGTON, DC, April 20th, 2000 -- The DD 21 Blue Team, led by Bath Iron Works (BIW), a General Dynamics Company, announced today that IBM and Cisco Systems are joining the Blue Team, bringing significant new commercial capabilities to the team's support of the US Navy's 21st century destroyer program. The announcement, made at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition of the Navy League of the United States, expands the team of some 22 major industry leaders that are noteworthy for their respective strengths in the defense and commercial business arenas. These industry leaders are complemented by government teammates recognized for their Navy expertise. BIW is the DD 21 Blue Team prime contractor, with responsibility for overall ship hull mechanical and electrical design. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems is the total ship systems integrator.
"Commercial industry today, in large part, is trailblazing many important frontiers of technology," said Dr. Michael B. Hughes, Vice President, DD 21 Program at Lockheed Martin. "IBM and Cisco Systems are standard-bearers in that revolutionary development of new technology. Their technical leadership brings added strength to the Blue Team in support of DD 21 over the life of the program."
The DD 21 program will provide the US Navy with a bold step forward in surface ship capability, delivering a highly sophisticated multi-mission destroyer with preeminent capabilities in meeting land attack, maritime dominance and joint interoperability requirements.
The new ship is being procured by the Navy under a streamlined acquisition process that encourages innovation, design flexibility and the use of commercial technologies and processes. Consequently, procurement, operating and support costs for the DD 21 will be substantially lower, and technical advances in ship design will enable the DD 21 to operate with up to 70 percent fewer crew members than today's surface combatants require.
The Blue Team approach also focuses on critical requirements such as land attack, crew quality of life, survivability, design for commonality with future 21st century Navy platforms, and key operational concepts that will enable the DD 21 to dominate the littoral battlespace. Also, the DD 21 will be the Navy's first class of ships designed and built during the 21st century to be powered by electric drive featuring an integrated power architecture.
IBM and Cisco Systems will contribute important elements to the Blue Team effort, including initiatives that bring "e-business" capability and infrastructure to the team's Full Service Contractor concept in support of the ship over its life span. Additionally, the two new teammates will provide advanced computing and software capabilities to the ship, to the smart product model, and to critical links between afloat and shore components that are an important part of the foundation of the Full Service Contractor concept.
"The Blue Team's commitment to bringing the benefits of commercial technology to bear on one of the Navy's and the nation's most important defense programs and to fully leverage their innovative features is underscored by the presence of IBM and Cisco Systems on our team," Thomas J. Egan, BIW Vice President, DD 21 Program, said. "This commitment, coupled with the Blue Team's dedication to partnership with government, will ensure that the most advanced technologies are transitioned to the fleet affordably and efficiently."
The addition of IBM and Cisco complement an already strong group of commercial teammates including: Rational Software (software development tools and processes), Aramark (food services), and Parametric Technology (software to support Smart Product Model development). Their teammates on the Blue Team include Northrop Grumman, SAIC, L3 Communications, Gibbs & Cox, United Defense LP, Solipsys, Computer Sciences Corporation, Micro Analysis & Design Inc., Aptima, Booz Allen Hamilton, Fire Risk Management, Hopeman Brothers, Metron, Sikorsky, Sippican, and the University of Maine.
Recognized Navy expertise is provided to the Blue Team by several detachments of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), and the Navy Inventory Control Point (NAVICP).
Jim Tierney, Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Moorestown, 856-722-5848
Rich Palmay, Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Moorestown, 856-722-2708
Susan E. Pierter, Bath Iron Works, 207-442-1149
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