On July 8, 2022, the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Virginia, awarded a contract of up to $15.418946 million (N00014-22-C-1067) to the Northrop Systems division located in Lindsey Comb Heights, Maryland, to develop a "Collaborative Engagement Replacement Element Level Digital Beamforming System" (CERES) for the "Collaborative Engagement Multibeam Array" (MACE). This system is an advanced shipborne active systemElectronic scanningThe aperture transceiver system is also the prototype of the US Navy's next-generation "collaborative combat multibeam array" transceiver system. This work aims to upgrade the existing "Collaborative Engagement Capability" (CEC) system's "Flat Array Antenna Assembly" (PAAA) with new radio frequency and digital field replaceable modules (LRM) to provide simultaneous multi beam capabilityCommunication capability. The award of this contract is the result of the US Navy's special notice (N00014-21-S-SN13) on the implementation of competitive procurement for the "Collaborative Engagement Multibeam Array" under the "Long term Interdisciplinary Notice on Science and Technology of the Navy and Marine Corps" (N00014-21-S-B001), and a total of 7 proposal responses have been received. The contract includes a basic term of 36 months with no options. The second party will perform the work specified in the contract on the Linxikum highland, and is expected to complete it before July 10, 2025. At the time of awarding the contract, the US Navy was disbursing $3.476732 million from the research, development, testing, and evaluation budget for fiscal year 2021, which is set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2022.