BAE Systems wins $30M Navy contract for IFF upgrade

GREENLAWN, N.Y. - BAE Systems has secured a $30 million contract from the U.S. Navy to upgrade the AN/APX-123A(V) Common Transponder (CXP), enhancing its Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) capabilities. The upgrade is designed to support the Navy fleet and joint forces with air defense, weapon systems, air traffic control, and range instrumentation. As a prominent player in the Aerospace & Defense industry with annual revenue of $69.44B, BAE Systems has shown strong momentum, with its stock surging nearly 35% over the past six months according to InvestingPro data.

The advanced CXP aims to replace current IFF transponders across various platforms, including unmanned aerial vehicles, ships, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters. The new design focuses on addressing obsolescence and boosting processing capacity to meet future cyber and cryptographic requirements. With its open-system architecture and field programmable gate array technology, the CXP is engineered to allow for software updates without the need for hardware changes.

Seth Guanu, Combat Identification Products program area director at BAE Systems, emphasized the importance of the CXP’s reliability and security in identifying friendly forces and aiding decision-making in diverse threat environments. The modernization is expected to enhance interoperability among U.S. forces by providing a critical capability to numerous existing applications and emerging platforms.

The upgraded CXP will be compliant with Mark XIIB IFF, Mode S, and Mode 5 standards, ensuring secure and encrypted data exchange in line with the latest Department of Defense standards. It will also feature additional receive channels for passive acquisition of Mode 5 Level 2 and Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast In, which will improve situational awareness for warfighters.

BAE Systems, with over 80 years of experience in IFF technology, has delivered a significant number of interrogators, combined interrogator-transponder systems, and transponders to date. The technical refresh work for the AN/APX-123A(V) CXP will be carried out at the company’s facilities in Greenlawn, New York, and Austin, Texas. The production hardware is slated for flight qualification and delivery to users in 2027. Want deeper insights into defense sector stocks? InvestingPro offers exclusive analysis of 1,400+ stocks, including comprehensive research reports that transform complex Wall Street data into actionable intelligence for smarter investing decisions.

This update is based on a press release statement from BAE Systems.

In other recent news, Boeing has been in the spotlight with several significant developments. The company reported no charges in the first quarter, with analysts from Bernstein SocGen maintaining an Outperform rating, citing strong momentum in its commercial airplane division. Boeing is on track to increase production rates for its 737MAX and 787 models, with expectations to reach 42 units per month for the 737MAX by the end of the year. In a separate move, BofA Securities upgraded Boeing’s stock rating from Neutral to Buy, raising the price target to $260, highlighting the company’s involvement in substantial trade deals with countries like the UK, Qatar, UAE, and China.

Additionally, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced a hearing to examine a mid-air cabin panel blowout on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 flight, which has led to a cap on the plane’s production by the Federal Aviation Administration. Meanwhile, BAE Systems introduced a new range of M-Code GPS receivers, enhancing its offerings to the U.S. military with advanced anti-jamming capabilities. The company is preparing to launch the next generation of GPS products based on Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 technology. Furthermore, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Indian airlines have placed record orders for more than 2,000 new aircraft, signaling significant growth in the country’s aviation market.

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