DRS Laurel Awarded $68.3 Million Navy Deal for Missile Launch Kits

DRS Laurel Technologies Partnership received a $68.3 million modification to build Vertical Launching System kits for the U.S. and the Netherlands, with work in Largo, Florida, due by July 2027.

First Published: July 28, 2026, 1:16 PM ET

LARGO, FLORIDA — DRS Laurel Technologies Partnership, a Largo, Florida, defense electronics contractor, received a $68.3 million Navy contract modification to build missile launch kits for the U.S. and the Netherlands, as announced on war.gov.

The firm-fixed-price modification covers the manufacturing, assembling, testing and delivery of Vertical Launching System kits under contract N6339423C0006. The award splits purchases between the U.S. government at 87% and the government of the Netherlands at 13% through the Foreign Military Sales program.

The Navy obligated the funding at the time of award, and it will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, according to war.gov. Fiscal 2026 procurement funds of $41.8 million cover the largest share at 61%, followed by shipbuilding and conversion funds of $17 million at 25% and Foreign Military Sales funds of $8.6 million at 12%. Smaller amounts came from other Navy procurement and defense-wide research accounts.

The Vertical Launching System sits at the heart of U.S. and allied surface warships, firing surface-to-air, anti-submarine and strike missiles from below deck. Kits keep those launchers operational and expand allied inventories. The Netherlands operates frigates equipped with the system, and the sale deepens interoperability between NATO navies.

DRS Laurel Technologies traces its roots to a 1994 joint venture between DRS Technologies and Laurel Technologies of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, formed to produce electronic assemblies, cables and harnesses for military systems, according to fundinguniverse.com. The parent, now Leonardo DRS, builds power control systems for warships and sensor equipment for ground and naval forces, according to leonardodrs.com. DRS Technologies reported sales of $675.8 million in 2003 and employed 3,750 people at the time, according to fundinguniverse.com.

The deal directs work and payroll to Largo, near Tampa, and reinforces Florida’s role as a hub for naval systems manufacturing. Taxpayers fund most of the award, while the Netherlands covers its own share, spreading cost across the alliance. For the average reader, the contract carries no direct bill beyond the federal appropriations already set, though it signals steady defense spending flowing into a Gulf Coast community.

This marks the first contract awarded to DRS Laurel Technologies Partnership in 2026, and the 49th Department of Defense contract awarded in Florida during the year, according to govtribe.com. The modification ranks below the company’s record award of $150 million. It also falls between the 2026 Navy portfolio’s year-to-date low of $9 million and its high of $8 billion.

Contracts of this kind have happened before. Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division in Port Hueneme, California, routinely awards Vertical Launching System work as part of long-running sustainment programs. The current action modifies a contract first issued in 2023, extending a production relationship already in place.

The next decision rests with Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division, the contracting activity, which will oversee delivery and any further modifications. Delivery is expected by July 2027, though no date for a follow-on award has been announced.

Missile launcher work has long anchored the DRS story, as it has before. The company grew out of anti-submarine warfare, when founder Leonard Newman and engineer David Gross built a device letting surface ships identify submarine engines without revealing their own position, according to fundinguniverse.com. The firm incorporated on November 8, 1968, with $140,000 in start-up capital. A Navy display workstation contract later pushed revenue toward $70 million before a production delay cut it to $58 million and produced an $11 million loss in fiscal 1990, according to fundinguniverse.com. Restructuring followed, yet the company survived to become a mid-tier defense supplier feeding the same fleet it once helped protect.

This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to DRS Laurel Technologies Partnership, in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $68,322,385. It is also the 49th Department of Defense contract awarded in Florida during 2026. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to DRS Laurel Technologies Partnership, whose record stands at $150,000,000, it is notable within the Navy portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Navy portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,046,496 and maximum of $8,000,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 17 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 23, 2026.