The US Navy has contracted BAE Systems to supply missile canisters for its surface combatants, under a $22-million agreement covering canisters for the MK 41 VLS and ongoing production of MK 29 GMLS units. The overall contract could expand to $317 million with optional orders.
Manufacturing will occur at BAE’s primary missile-canister site in Aberdeen, South Dakota, supported by engineering operations in Minneapolis.
The award builds on a July 2024 contract worth $738 million for additional MK 41 canisters.
The MK 41 Vertical Launching System houses missiles below the armored deck in vertical silos, enabling rapid firing across multiple mission sets—from SM-6 interceptors to Tomahawk land-attack missiles and anti-submarine weapons. While Lockheed Martin designed the system, BAE provides the canisters used to hold and deploy the missiles.
The launcher equips Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers and is widely fielded across partner navies such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin and Diehl Defence began assessing integration of IRIS-T missiles into the platform.
The MK 29 Guided Missile Launching System is an above-deck, trainable launcher used primarily for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, holding eight missiles with manual reload requirements. It is operated on selected ships including Nimitz-class carriers.
