Finland's Ministry of Defense is seeking a battle system for future naval vessels and will soon issue requests for proposals from industry.

The battle system will be comprised of weapon systems, command-and-control systems and sensor systems.

The ministry said the Finnish Defense Forces' Logistics Command will send requests to 12 domestic and foreign companies to participate in tendering with replies expected by mid-February. An invitation to negotiate and an invitation to tender will be sent to selected suppliers during spring.

The first round of negotiations for production and integration of systems will be conducted during 2017, while the deadline to submit a preliminary tender will be in autumn of that year.

The battle systems will be for Squadron 2020 vessels -- four in all -- which may be purchased from the shipyard of Rauma Marine Constructions, the ministry said.

The exact configuration of the battle system will be decided in the course of design but at least sea mines and missiles are likely to be included in the main weapon systems.

U.S. Navy extends contract for destroyer modernization
Bath, Maine (UPI) Dec 20, 2016 - General Dynamics Bath Iron Works has received a $126 million contract extension to manage modernization activities for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The U.S. Navy contract extension for work on DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers runs through December, 2017, with options for an additional six months.

Modernization work includes engineering, design, material kitting, logistics, planning and execution.

Bath Iron Works' DDG 51 Planning Yard services are provided in Brunswick, Maine, as in DDG 51 homeports in Virginia, Florida, Washington, Hawaii, Spain, and Japan.