Lockheed Receives Battle Management Contract from Missile Defense Agency

January 19, 2012 by
Filed under: Boeing, Business Line, Companies, Contract Additions, Contract Awards, Department of Defense, development program, Events, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, MDA, Military Aviation, missile defense, Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon, Services, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy 

The FY12 defense budget while it did not grow much did keep spending at the high levels generated by the Iraq and Afghan fighting. There are certain key areas that remain highly funded as well in the U.S. budget. Future cuts are expected but it is hoped by contractors that these areas will maintain their funding even as other parts of the U.S. military are shrunk. One of these is in missile defense.

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the successor to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) created under President Reagan, is responsible for managing development and deployment of systems for this mission. Although technically many of the programs belong to the Services MDA provides their funding and direction. The Army has three major ground based systems and the Navy has a ship one as well.

MDA is also responsible for building a network of sensors and the software that links all of these parts together.

Lockheed Martin (LMT) is the lead contractor on the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) program which has as a goal the integration of the different sensors and weapon systems to most efficiently detect, identify and engage a target. Lockheed is assisted by several other major contractors on this program including Northrop Grumman (NOC), Boeing (BA), Raytheon (RTN) and General Dynamics (GD).

Lockheed has just received further funding for this effort close to a billion dollars as MDA executes the latest option on this contract. It can be expected as long as the MDA wants to keep developing its system of systems that the C2BMC will keep going as it is necessary for the best use of them.

This means despite the defense cuts there will be some funding for this program so that it may be kept going to completion which favors Lockheed Martin and does provide some core revenue.

Photo from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency Flickr Photostream.

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