Stark Aerospace Wins $114M MK 41 VLS Canister Contract
The U.S. Navy has awarded Stark Aerospace Inc. a $114,006,160 contract modification to exercise options for MK 41 Vertical Launching System MK 25 Mod 1 canister requirements, extending procurement work through February 2030.
The U.S. Department of Defense contract announcement identifies Stark Aerospace, based in Columbus, Mississippi, as the contractor. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Takeaways
Key facts from the contract announcement
1. $114 Million MK 41 VLS Modification
Stark Aerospace received a $114,006,160 firm-fixed-price modification to exercise options for MK 41 Vertical Launching System MK 25 Mod 1 canister requirements.
2. Work Runs Through February 2030
The contract work will be performed across facilities in Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, with completion expected in February 2030.
The action modifies previously awarded contract N00024-25-C-5314. It is a firm-fixed-price modification rather than a new standalone contract, and the announcement does not disclose the number of MK 25 Mod 1 canisters covered by the option exercise.
Scope of the MK 41 Vertical Launching System Contract
The $114 million modification covers MK 25 Mod 1 canister requirements associated with the MK 41 Vertical Launching System.
The announcement describes the action as an exercise of contract options. It does not identify specific ships, deployment schedules, missile quantities, or individual production lots associated with the current modification.
The MK 41 is a below-deck vertical launch system used aboard surface combatants. Its modular architecture allows different missile canisters to be integrated into launch cells according to the requirements of a particular ship and weapon configuration. Lockheed Martin, the MK 41 system manufacturer, describes the system as supporting multiple mission areas, including air defense, anti-surface warfare, ballistic missile defense, anti-submarine warfare, and land attack.
MK 41 VLS and MK 25 Canister Technical Context
The MK 25 is a quad-pack canister associated with the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, or ESSM. A quad-pack configuration allows four compatible ESSMs to be loaded into a single MK 41 VLS cell, according to Lockheed Martin documentation.
This arrangement increases the number of relatively compact defensive missiles that can be carried within a fixed number of launcher cells. The MK 41 architecture is designed around modular canisters that provide the mechanical and launch interface between the weapon and the shipboard vertical launching system.
The contract announcement, however, does not state that every canister covered by the modification will be loaded with ESSM, nor does it identify the specific ships or combat systems that will receive the procured hardware. Those details should therefore not be inferred from the award alone.
Operational Impact on U.S. Navy Fleet
For the U.S. Navy, MK 41 VLS canister procurement supports an established naval launch architecture used on surface combatants and other compatible platforms.
The MK 25 configuration is particularly relevant to the ESSM family. Lockheed Martin has previously described the MK 25 as a quad-pack canister for ESSM, while the broader MK 41 system supports a range of missile types through different canister configurations.
The option exercise therefore represents procurement of launcher hardware rather than the announcement of a new missile capability. The supplied contract notice does not identify a new missile integration effort, a new MK 41 variant, or a change to the Navy’s operational employment concept.
Contract Breakdown: Stark Aerospace Award Details
Contract Value
The modification is valued at $114,006,160.
The award is a firm-fixed-price modification. Under this contract structure, the agreed price is established for the defined work, subject to the terms of the contract.
Contractor
Stark Aerospace Inc. is headquartered in Columbus, Mississippi.
Contract Type
The action is a modification to previously awarded contract N00024-25-C-5314 and exercises options for MK 25 Mod 1 canister requirements.
It should not be described as a completely new contract award.
Work Locations
The work will be performed at four locations:
| Location | Share of Work |
|---|---|
| Columbus, Mississippi | 54% |
| Clackamas, Oregon | 21% |
| Johnstown, Pennsylvania | 21% |
| Fairfield, New Jersey | 4% |
The distribution indicates that more than half of the contracted work is expected to take place at Stark Aerospace’s Columbus, Mississippi, location, while additional work will be performed across facilities in three other states.
Performance Period
The work is expected to be completed by February 2030.
The announcement does not provide individual delivery dates within that period.
Funding
The Navy and other customer funding sources will finance the modification.
The obligated funds at award are:
| Funding Source | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal 2026 Weapons Procurement, Navy | $55,674,294 | 49% |
| Other customer funds | $48,522,292 | 42% |
| Fiscal 2025 Weapons Procurement, Navy | $8,929,212 | 8% |
| Fiscal 2024 Weapons Procurement, Navy | $880,362 | 1% |
| Total | $114,006,160 | 100% |
Of the total amount obligated at award, $880,362 in fiscal 2024 funding will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, according to the contract announcement.
Options Or Follow-On Work
The modification exercises options under the existing contract. The announcement does not disclose additional unexercised option values, future quantities, or separate follow-on awards beyond the current action.
Stark Aerospace Defense Industrial Base and Acquisition Impact
The contract distributes work across four U.S. states, providing a concrete example of how naval weapons procurement can involve multiple industrial locations rather than a single manufacturing site.
For Stark Aerospace, the modification extends work under the existing MK 41 VLS canister contract through 2030. For the Navy, the procurement provides additional hardware for an established shipboard launching architecture without requiring the service to introduce a new launcher design.
The funding mix also shows that the procurement is not supported exclusively by one fiscal year’s Navy weapons procurement account. Nearly half of the award, $55.7 million, comes from fiscal 2026 Navy weapons procurement funds, while $48.5 million is identified as other customer funding.
The announcement does not identify the other customers or provide enough information to determine which specific naval or international programs are associated with those funds.
Program Milestones and Next Steps
The immediate milestone is the exercise of options under contract N00024-25-C-5314. Work is expected to continue through February 2030.
The contract notice does not provide a specific delivery schedule, production quantity, ship allocation, or installation timeline. Those details may be disclosed through later contract modifications, Navy procurement documents, or program announcements.
The current award is therefore best understood as a procurement action for MK 25 Mod 1 canister requirements supporting the broader MK 41 Vertical Launching System infrastructure, rather than as an announcement of a new naval missile or launcher program.
