Whitley County Defense Contractor Awarded $25M Contract

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The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a contract to Columbia City-based Ultra-Electronics, Undersea Sensor Systems Inc. The contract, valued at nearly $25 million, calls for the Whitley County company to build and deliver hydrophone, an underwater device that detects sounds from multiple directions.
The company also manufactures anti-submarine sonobuoys for the U.S. military.

The DOD says the work will be performed in Columbia City and is expected to be completed by July 2024. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, in Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity.

According to the Whitley County Economic Development Corp., USSI started as a division of Magnavox, then Raytheon acquired the business in the mid-‘90s. In 1998 USSI became a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Ultra Electronics.