Oklahoma City-based defense contractor Long Wave Inc. will triple in size as a result of a $3.5 billion overhaul of the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarine communications system.
Long Wave has been named a subcontractor in the Northrop Grumman-led effort to recreate a worldwide communication system that will allow the president and U.S. military leaders to communicate with the latest generation of the Navy submarines in the event of nuclear war.
The team of defense contractors will deliver the new E-130J aircraft to provide airborne command, control and communications for U.S. nuclear forces, Long Weave said.
The new aircraft will feature advanced manufacturing, agile design, digital engineering and weapon system integration for the U.S. Navy's Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission, which is heavily supported at Tinker Air Force Base.
The project represents an enormous growth opportunity for the privately held firm that has been working to support TACOMO's operations at Tinker since the 1990s.
Long Wave's revenue will jump from about $35 million per year to nearly $100 million within the next couple of years, said Chris Lozano, the company's chief marketing officer. That rapid growth has prompted a hiring frenzy that will add another 100 engineers and senior program managers to Long Wave's workforce, which now stands at about 150.
Many of the new hires will be veterans, Lozano said, and about 60% of them will be mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, systems engineers and software engineers. The additional staff will help design and build a training system and flight manuals for the new aircraft, which will be a modification of the four-engine C-130 Hercules cargo plane.
Once development and production is complete, the planes will replace the Navy's current squadron of E-6B Mercury aircraft, which are now out of production, difficult to maintain and fast becoming obsolete.
Aeospace is the fastest-growing industry in Oklahoma, and companies like Long Wave are a major reason why, said Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.
"Oklahoma has a long history of supporting our armed forces, with five military installations across the state," he said. "I'm excited for Long Wave to show the country that Oklahoma companies are ready and capable of supporting our nation's military at the highest level."
John Nash, Oklahoma secretary of military and veterans affairs, called the project transformational for Long Wave and said the news represents another important step forward for the state's burgeoning aerospace industry.
"This contract is going to push Long Wave into a growth phase that it has not seen before in its history," Nash said. "This is something that many companies - irrespective of size - in Oklahoma City or throughout the state rarely achieve. The impact on Oklahoma's economy is going to be significant."
The new aircraft project is related to the Navy's launch of its Columbia-class submarine, which is considered the next generation of the country's nuclear fleet, Lozano said. In the spirit of modernization, the Navy needed a communications aircraft that is sustainable.
Once operational, the new plane will provide connectivity between the National Command Authority and U.S. nuclear forces around the globe. The planes will be capable of operating anywhere in the world, deploying 5-mile-long antennas to facilitate communication with submarines operating as deep as 60 feet below the ocean's surface.
The flight manuals and training systems Long Wave will provide are intended for the pilots, naval flight officers and the air crews, Lozano said.
The current training system is about 30 years old, he said. It's big and cumbersome hardware built into half of an airplane that was put on stilts. It's enormous.
The new training technology will represent a modernized approach, employing virtual reality technology, with goggles and 3D touch screens.
"We're going to take the training footprint way down, so we're going to meet all the training requirements that are currently being met with a much smaller footprint by using new technology," Lozano said.
The new E-130J aircraft will look and perform differently than the standard C-130 cargo plane, he said. The long antenna and other equipment that will be on board the plane is going to be significant, so Long Wave will create new flight manuals and maintenance manuals that are aligned with the new configuration.
Long Wave will be working alongside Northrop Grumman and other partners in the project, which include Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Raytheon, and Crescent Systems, Inc.
"Our systems training capabilities are well recognized nationally, and we're thrilled to be part of the team of experts who will develop this new asset for TACAMO," he said. "TACAMO is near and dear to our hearts at Long Wave."
Long Wave was founded 27 years ago to support the TACAMO mission at Tinker Air Force Base and nearly 40% of Long Wave's employees are retired TACAMO naval personnel.
State Military and Veterans Affairs Secretary Nash said the work Long Wave is doing is a source of pride for Oklahoma.
"Aviation is one of our largest industries, but more importantly, the contribution that Long Wave is making through this contract to our national defense at a strategic level is not quantifiable," he said. "The mission that Long Waves supports is directly connected to our national nuclear defense system and it is an integral part of our nation's security umbrella, and I can't overstate the importance of that."