Raytheon will help the U.S. Navy transition to using Linux software at ground control stations for unmanned air vehicles, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.

The company’s intelligence and information systems unit won a $27,883,883 contract to implement the tactical control system software, used for directing vertical take-off UAVs.

Work under the cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price contract will occur at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Md. and the Pentagon expects the work to finish by February 2014.

Contract funds totaling $5,175,075 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year and the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River is the contracting activity.

The Waltham, Mass.-based company is also developing frequency jamming technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.