Draper Laboratory, General Dynamics and Raytheon Reopen Merrill Road Building as “Integrated Support Facility” for the U.S. Navy; Employment to Increase
 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The U.S. Navy and Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass., along with their industrial partners, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems and Raytheon, celebrated the opening of the Integrated Support Facility (ISF) on April 25. Formerly known as Ordnance Plant 3 on Merrill Road, the opening of this new facility follows a period of renovation and upgrade, creating new jobs in the region.

As part of its ongoing effort to streamline operations, reduce cost and improve supportability, the Department of the Navy contracted with Draper Laboratory to establish a depot for guidance system repair. In 2004, Draper Laboratory selected the General Dynamics/Raytheon team as the "best value" solution for depot functions. Following the initial contract award, the building has undergone extensive modifications to upgrade and improve the existing infrastructure. In September 2006, the ISF was deemed fully qualified to repair tactical guidance systems. In February 2007, the first guidance system repaired at the facility was delivered to and accepted by the Navy. The dedication of this facility represents a significant milestone and a major commitment to the U.S. Navy to provide a capability that will benefit the Fleet Ballistic Missile Program and the Navy for the next several decades.

“We are proud of the success that we have had to date with the opening of this guidance system repair depot. Together with Draper Laboratory and Raytheon, we are providing a valuable service to the U.S. Navy and the protection of our nation. Our local community has benefited tremendously from this project by using local contractors, vendors and trades people, and we expect to create 15 additional new jobs at the facility by the end of 2010,” remarked Mike Tweed-Kent, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems vice president and general manager.

“For the past two and a half years, the teamwork, dedication and innovation demonstrated at the Integrated Support Facility has been superb. The success of this program is a tribute to the leadership and vision of the Navy Strategic Systems Program Office, Draper Laboratory and the General Dynamics/Raytheon team. Raytheon is proud to be part of this team and support this critical National Defense Program,” remarked Brian Arnold, Raytheon Space Systems vice president.

Draper Laboratory, the prime Guidance System Integrator for the U.S. Navy, is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to applied research, development, education and technology transfer. Draper supports a broad array of programs for government and commercial sponsors and has approximately 1,100 employees. Draper Laboratory is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and has several satellite operations nationwide including Pittsfield, Mass. Draper Laboratory was responsible for leading the contractor team that developed, facilitized and certified the Integrated Support Facility. For more information about Draper Laboratory, visit www.draper.com.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2006 sales of $20.3 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs more than 80,000 people worldwide. For more information about Raytheon, visit www.raytheon.com.

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, operates and maintains mission systems for defense, space, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, homeland security and homeland defense customers. Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., the company specializes in ground systems, imagery processing, mission payloads, space vehicles; maritime subsurface, surface and airborne mission systems; and tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination programs for national intelligence. More information is available on the Internet at www.gd-ais.com.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 81,100 people worldwide, and expects 2006 revenues of approximately $24 billion.  More information about the company is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.