The US Navy has awarded BAE Systems a new contract to manufacture missile canisters for its fleet of surface combatants. The deal, initially valued at $22 million, covers production of canisters for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) as well as continued manufacturing of MK 29 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) canisters. If all contract options are exercised, the total value could rise to $317 million.
Canister production will take place at BAE’s primary manufacturing facility in Aberdeen, South Dakota, supported by engineering and program management teams located in Minneapolis. This award follows a much larger $738-million contract issued in July 2024 for MK 41 missile canisters, reinforcing the Navy’s ongoing investment in shipborne missile infrastructure.
The MK 41 VLS, originally developed by Lockheed Martin, is a modular below-deck system that vertically stores and launches weapons while protecting them beneath the armored deck. Each eight-cell launcher module can deploy a wide range of interceptors, including SM-6 air defense missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and anti-submarine rockets (ASROC). BAE is responsible for producing the canisters that house, ship, and secure individual missiles inside the launch system.
The US Navy operates the MK 41 VLS on major combatants such as Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, while allied navies—including the UK, Germany, and Japan—field the same system. Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin and Germany’s Diehl Defence announced a joint effort to explore integrating the IRIS-T missile into the MK 41 platform.
Meanwhile, the MK 29 GMLS—another launcher supported under the contract—is an above-deck, trainable system that fires ESSM and RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles. It holds up to eight missiles and requires manual reloading, and despite its older design, remains in service aboard select vessels such as Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
