MIDDLETOWN – Systems Engineering Associates Corp. (SEA CORP) will serve as prime contractor for support services to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center’s Electromagnetic Department under a 28-month, $129 million contract that is the company’s largest ever.

“This is a significant opportunity for us to provide technical support to help develop, build and test Navy systems that are vital to maintaining the superiority of our Naval forces … as SEA CORP leads a team that brings significant and broad technical expertise in every area of electromagnetic systems technology, from systems concepts to installation and upgrade of systems aboard ships,” Larry Willner, SEA CORP’s president, said in a statement last night.

SEA CORP will lead a team of 39 subcontractors in assisting NUWC with imaging, electronic warfare and communications systems, and various other sensors and subsystems for Navy ships and support stations. They will provide services including system, maintenance and software engineering; ship alterations; testing and evaluation; library and database development; and technical documentation.

“Our team includes 21 small businesses that are disadvantaged, women-owned, disabled-veteran-owned, veteran-owned businesses or companies from historically underutilized geographic areas,” Willner said. “We will use the unique experience that those small companies provide and integrate it with the power of the large companies on our team,” such as Lockheed Martin Corp. and GTECH Networks LLC, “to offer a range of services and flexibility that is unmatched in the marketplace.”

The contract, awarded by Naval Sea Systems Command, is twice the size of the company’s largest previous deal, SEA CORP said.

“The significance of this award ... lies in the fact that this is our first major win competed on an unrestricted basis since we graduated from our small-business status last year,” noted CEO Brian Gilligan, a veteran who helped found the company in 1981. “Although we have won other unrestricted competitions in the past, this award is by far our largest. It would be nearly $270 million, if it were over a normal five-year option period.

“It provides confirmation that SEA CORP can compete for major procurements, and succeed, in a fully open competitive environment.”

David Lussier, SEA CORP’s senior vice president and company manager for the project, described the job as “a significant challenge that we are ready to meet.”

Systems Engineering Associates Corp. (SEA CORP) is a veteran-owned business providing systems and engineering services to the Navy and other customers. It currently employs about 300 people, most of them at its headquarters in Middletown. Additional information is available at seacorp.com.