BAE Systems in Greenlawn wins $11.5M defense contract

BAE Systems Inc.'s Greenlawn unit has won an $11.5 million contract for the testing, training and troubleshooting of friend-or-foe transponders on Air Force F-16 fighter jets, the Department of Defense announced.

Sal Costa, product line director of identification and processing solutions at BAE, said in a statement that no additional hiring would be required at the Greenlawn unit, which employs 650 workers.

The transponder units, whose use dates back to World War II, allow aircraft, ships and submarines to automatically respond to requests from allied forces to identify themselves and avoid attack in "cluttered environments," said Costa, who works at the Greenlawn facility.

BAE was the sole bidder for the work via an Internet solicitation through the Army Contracting Command in Tobyhanna, Pa., according to the Defense Department. Work on the transponder program is expected to be complete by June 6, 2016.

BAE Systems Inc. has 34,000 workers in the United States and is a subsidiary of multinational defense contractor BAE Systems PLC, based in London.

Tobyhanna Army Depot, in northeast Pennsylvania's Monroe County, bills itself as the Defense Department's largest full-service electronics maintenance facility.

Shares of BAE Systems closed up 0.12 percent to 416.30 British pence in London Stock Exchange trading Monday.