08:56 GMT, October 9, 2009 PALO ALTO, Calif. | Communications & Power Industries, Inc. (CPI) has received a one-year contract for up to $4.9 million to support the Aegis weapons system. CPI, a subsidiary of CPI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPII), is a leading provider of microwave, radio frequency, power and control solutions for critical defense, communications, medical, scientific and other applications.

Under the contract, CPI will provide traveling wave tubes (TWTs) to support the AN/SPY-1D(V) radar system on the Aegis weapons system. CPI's TWT shipments for this contract are expected to begin in the second half of fiscal 2010 and be completed within 12 months.

The Aegis weapons system is CPI's largest single defense program. The AN/SPY-1 radar system is the primary air and surface radar on the U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class cruisers and DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, as well as on several foreign navies' destroyers. The AN/SPY-1D(V) configuration of the radar system is designed to operate in high clutter, near-coast environments.

"CPI provides several different new and repair products for the Aegis weapons system in its many configurations, and it is a key defense platform for us. Our defense markets have stabilized, and this significant, short-term contract for the Aegis weapons system further demonstrates that there remains healthy and immediate demand for CPI's spare and repair products within those markets," said Joe Caldarelli, chief executive officer of CPI.

Work on the contract will be completed at CPI's facilities in Palo Alto, Calif. The contract was awarded by the Naval Inventory Control Point (NAVICP) in Mechanicsburg, Pa.