Navy awards L3Harris $139 million for new low-profile submarine masts

The US Navy has signed a $139 million deal with L3Harris Technologies to produce low-profile mast (LPM) systems for its Virginia-class attack submarines and the new Columbia-class ballistic-missile fleet. L3Harris, headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, will deliver its Type 20 and Type 24 non-hull-penetrating sensor arms, which offer high-definition, 360-degree imaging while reducing the vessel’s detectability and freeing up interior volume.

Engineering support for the masts will be provided throughout the program, reinforcing the Navy’s broader undersea modernization efforts. In parallel, L3Harris secured a multi-year contract with the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake to supply key components for missiles such as the Tomahawk cruise missile, building on a three-decade partnership. Executives Nino DiCosmo, Ephraim Washburn and Scott Alexander highlighted the contracts as vital to maintaining undersea superiority and strengthening the defense industrial base.