Raytheon awarded contract to repair electronics on USS Oscar Austin.

The U.S. Navy recently awarded Raytheon a $US 17 million contract to repair the AN/SPY-1D transmitters suite aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79), in order to bring the fire-damaged vessel back to the fleet.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) departs Naval Station Norfolk for a scheduled deployment to conduct maritime operations in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation (Picture Source: U.S. Navy)

The contract pays Raytheon to repair, refurbish, reassemble and test the Aegis Weapon System AN/SPY-1D transmitter suite on USS Oscar Austin, according to the contract award.

However, six months after a fire reportedly fried an unspecified amount of electrical gear aboard Oscar Austin, the Navy is still evaluating how long it will take to repair the destroyer whose repair and upgrade work had been nearly complete when the fire broke out, according to Navy officials.

The upgrades made by BAE Systems on the Oscar Austin were initially scheduled to finish in February 2019. The fire occurred before the Baseline 9 equipment was installed, according to the Navy. The fire and firefighting efforts likely damaged existing hardware needed to install the updated system.