LATHROP, Calif. - Defense Contract Management Agency Lathrop personnel recently celebrated a milestone event with contractor and program office representatives as the eight millionth rocket igniter was manufactured and accepted by the government.
“This product directly affects the combat readiness of the warfighter and our involvement helps ensure it is delivered on time and at cost,” said Mary May, DCMA Lathrop commander.
The igniter is used in a variety of advanced ordnance electronic systems as well as crew escape and flight termination systems. The program started as the MK125 in the early 1980s and has gone through multiple modifications throughout the years. Today, the system is known as the Hydra MK311 Mod 0 and the contractor has delivered more than 3.4 million igniters under the current variant.
“Much progress has been made toward quality oversight and overall safety throughout the years,” said May. This was echoed in the theme for the celebration, “Safety First, Quality Every Time!”
To ensure success of this program and many other critical defense programs at the contractor facility, DCMA Lathrop has five quality assurance specialists and one engineer on location. The face value of the contract is currently $13 million, and production is scheduled through 2014. A new proposal is underway to continue production of the Hydra MK311 through fiscal year 2017.