US Navy Awards $21Mln Contract to Upgrade Anti-High Speed Boat Guns

According to defense contractor Orbital ATK, US Navy vessels will be better equipped to kill approaching high-speed boats with a $21 million contract to upgrade its 5-inch guns for use against close-in targets.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Navy vessels will be better equipped to kill approaching high-speed boats with a $21 million contract to upgrade its 5-inch guns for use against close-in targets, the defense contractor Orbital ATK announced in a press release on Tuesday.

"Orbital ATK’s Multi-Function Fuze [MFF] is key to extending the Navy’s defensive and offensive capabilities," Orbital ATK Vice President Pat Nolan stated in the release. "MFF leverages Orbital ATK’s design, development and production expertise to provide the US Navy with an affordable and reliable fuze for its 5-inch/54 caliber ammunition."

The MFF allows gun operators to quickly set the point and timing at which a fired projectile will explode, according to an Orbital ATK website.

Moreover, the press release described the contract’s purpose as increasing defenses "against high-speed water attack craft."

Earlier this month, the George HW Bush aircraft carrier strike group was threatened by two sets of Iranian fast-attack boats as it transited the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Persian Gulf to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia), according to the US military.

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