Navy Awards Design West $33.8 Million to Build Missile Launcher Control Panels

The Tustin, California defense contractor won a firm-fixed-price modification to deliver Vertical Launching System motor control panels for U.S. and Netherlands forces by July 2029.

First Published: July 25, 2026, 2:59 PM ET

TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA — Design West Technologies Inc., a small Southern California defense contractor, won a $33.8 million Navy award to build missile-launcher control hardware for U.S. and allied warships, as announced on war.gov.

The firm-fixed-price modification exercises options under a previously awarded contract for the manufacture, assembly, test and delivery of a Vertical Launching System Motor Control Panel, a Status Panel and associated kits. Fiscal 2026 shipbuilding and conversion Navy funds cover $29,167,390, or 86%, while Foreign Military Sales funds for the Netherlands cover $4,677,603, or 14%. The obligated money will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Founded in 1994, Design West Technologies describes itself as a nontraditional defense contractor with fewer than 50 employees that specializes in weapon systems and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear detection, according to mtec-sc.org. The company operates a facility with more than 60,000 square feet of AS9100D and ITAR certified manufacturing space near John Wayne Airport in Tustin, according to dwtusa.com. It carries 8(a), small-business and minority-owned designations, according to sossecinc.com.

Work under the award will be performed in Tustin and is expected to be completed by July 2029. Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division in Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. The award was made July 22.

The Vertical Launching System is the standard shipboard launcher for the U.S. Navy and allied navies, firing missiles from below-deck cells on cruisers, destroyers and frigates. Control panels and status panels govern the electrical sequencing and monitoring that ready those cells to launch. The Netherlands, a founding NATO member, operates frigates equipped with the system, and its 14% share ties the delivery schedule to allied fleet timelines.

This is not the first large launcher award for the company. Design West Technologies previously received a $132 million contract for Navy Vertical Launcher System Motor Control Panels and a $138 million contract for Navy Vertical Launcher System Launch Sequencers, according to mtec-sc.org. The firm and a partner also won a $298 million contract for CBRN systems, and a separate award for M205 tripods valued at $38 million, according to mtec-sc.org.

The modification lifts the company’s 2026 contract total to $86.8 million. This award ranked among eight Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 24, 2026. For a company with a headcount in the dozens, a single Navy modification of this size represents a sum many times its likely annual payroll, underscoring how specialized suppliers anchor the missile-launcher supply chain.

The next decision on further options rests with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division, which would exercise or decline additional option years under the base contract. A date for any further option has not been announced.

Contract modifications for shipboard launchers have long carried names that outlast the ships they arm. The Mark 41 Vertical Launching System entered U.S. Navy service in 1986 aboard the cruiser Bunker Hill and has since been fielded by more than a dozen allied navies. Its adoption abroad turned once-domestic component orders into transatlantic supply lines, and firms that captured early panel and sequencer work grew alongside every new hull that carried the system to sea.

The total value of contracts awarded to Design West Technologies Inc.in 2026 reached $86,844,993. Overall, this award was announced among 8 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 24, 2026.