Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash) is pleased with today’s announcement that the Boeing Co. has been awarded a $3.9 billion cost-plus-award-fee contract to develop the U.S. Navy’s Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA).

“I’m excited that the Boeing Company, in particular, the Boeing plant in Renton, will play a large role in the development and manufacturing of this new aircraft,” said Smith. “Our Navy has played an important role in the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan and the MMA will replace our aging P-3 Orion fleet.  With the development of this aircraft in the Puget Sound region, this will be a boost to our local economy and bring much needed economic relief to the entire region. ”

The MMA offers a modern, highly reliable airframe which will be equipped with improved maritime surveillance and attack capability, allowing a smaller force to provide worldwide responsiveness while potentially on a smaller support infrastructure.  MMA will be a key component in the Navy’s Sea Power 21 Sea Shield concept by providing persistent anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities, supporting Sea Power 21’s Sea Strike doctrine through provisions of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.  The platform will also play a key role in the Navy’s FORCEnet architecture via development of the common undersea picture.  These operational capabilities will be key factors in providing a sustained forward presence, sea domination, and distributed and networked intelligence.