Sniper ATP Demonstrates Enhanced ISR Capability at Empire Challenge
Sniper ATP Demonstrates Enhanced ISR Capability at Empire ChallengeSeptember 15, 2009
ORLANDO, FL, -- Lockheed Martin's [NYSE: LMT] Sniper. Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) demonstrated its advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability during the recent joint forces Empire Challenge exercise. The enhancements respond to U.S. defense officials' call for improved ISR for convoy route reconnaissance and battlefield situational awareness.
During the joint and coalition military exercise conducted at Nellis Air Force Base, NV, and China Lake Naval Air Station, CA, pilots demonstrated a Sniper pod with enhanced algorithms, a digital data recorder and a high-definition sensor and datalink. U.S. Air Force crews flew the pod on an F-16 in support of the exercise's key objective - to evaluate proposed ISR solutions for Warfighter requirements.
"Field reports from ongoing contingency operations routinely attest to the use of the Sniper ATP to conduct non-traditional ISR missions," said Ken Fuhr, Fixed-Wing Program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "To better serve the Warfighter, we're expanding the pod's role as an ISR tool. Empire Challenge provided an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the pod's capability in support of improvised explosive device search, convoy support and armed overwatch."
During the exercise, Sniper pod's ISR capabilities demonstrated autonomous reconnaissance and data collection, providing a complete battlefield picture for intelligence operations. Directed by pre-defined or pilot-designated flight points, this capability can be used to monitor convoy routes or wide areas of interest, in addition to capturing images of infrastructure such as oil pipelines, power lines and roadways.
Packaged in a single lightweight pod, Sniper ATP's enhanced image clarity provides critical long-range, positive identification of both moving and stationary air and ground targets, as well as real-time targeting for advanced laser-guided weapons. It is also equipped with a video downlink that relays high-resolution streaming video to forward-deployed forces for non-traditional ISR and rapid target coordination.
Competitively selected as the U. S. Air Force's advanced targeting pod in 2001, the Sniper ATP is used by the U.S. Air Force in current combat operations and is actively deployed on five different U.S. and coalition platforms.
With a proven 98 percent field availability rate and demonstrated supportability worldwide, Sniper ATP is designed to be "plug-and-play" for optimal flexibility. The Sniper pod is operational on U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard and multinational F-16, F-15, B-1, CF-18, Harrier, A-10 and Tornado aircraft. It is currently being integrated and is flying on the B-52. Sniper pods provide discriminating capability to the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard and 11 international air forces, including coalition partners.
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Lockheed Martin Awarded $23 Million for Production of JASSM-Extended Range Test Missiles
Lockheed Martin Awarded $23 Million for Production of JASSM-Extended Range Test MissilesJuly 6, 2009 11:17:00 AM
ORLANDO, Fla., -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was awarded a $23 million contract for production of 12 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) test missiles to be used in flights tests. Six of the missiles will be used to complete the development test flight program, with the remaining six to be used in operational tests.
All of the missiles will be tactically configured with an added test instrumentation kit. The missiles are assembled in Lockheed Martin's award-winning missile assembly facility in Pike County, AL.
"These tests will demonstrate the maturity of the JASSM-ER design, and support the Milestone C decision to proceed with low rate initial production of the missile," said Alan Jackson, director of the JASSM and JASSM-ER programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
The flight tests will be launched from a B-1B aircraft and engage various tactical targets. JASSM-ER has a 100 percent success rate, currently four-for-four in developmental flight tests.
The development and procurement of JASSM-ER is a key element of the B-1B reinvestment strategy. The additional range provided by the JASSM-ER variant benefits the B-1B with responsive, precision-engagement capability, while remaining clear of highly-defended airspace and beyond the range of long-range, surface-to-air missiles.
One of the primary JASSM-ER program objectives is to provide the Warfighter with a significant operational capability more than 2.5 times the baseline missile range. The JASSM-ER maintains the same outer mold line, survivability and lethality of the baseline JASSM missile.
A 2,000-pound class weapon with a dual-mode penetrator and blast fragmentation warhead, JASSM cruises autonomously in adverse weather, day or night, using a state-of-the-art infrared seeker in addition to the enhanced digital anti-jam Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to find a specific aimpoint on the target. Its stealthy airframe makes it extremely difficult for air defense systems to engage. The JASSM-ER missile design will be compatible with the threshold B-1B platform, as well as the B-2, B-52 and F-16 aircraft that currently employ JASSM.
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Contract win, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Missiles
Lockheed Martin Receives $60 Million Worldwide LANTIRN Depot Award
Lockheed Martin Receives $60 Million Worldwide LANTIRN Depot AwardJuly 8, 2009 9:32:00 AM
ORLANDO, Fla., -- The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a five-year, $60 million contract to continue depot maintenance support for LANTIRN navigation and targeting pods at the Lockheed Martin Warner Robins Worldwide Depot. The depot supports repairs on LANTIRN pods for both U.S. Air Force and foreign military sales customers.
LANTIRN navigation and targeting pods provide aviators with enhanced range, resolution and reliability. Under provisions of the contract, Lockheed Martin will continue to operate the government-owned Worldwide Depot at Warner Robins Air Force Base, GA, through 2014.
"Lockheed Martin is proud of its 11-year partnership with the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center to keep LANTIRN pods available and battle-ready," said David Ragsdale, LANTIRN product support manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Our depot employees and U.S. Air Force team provide quick-turn repairs on LANTIRN assets with a commitment to quality. We're proud to be given the opportunity to continue this support."
The Worldwide Depot is located alongside the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, strengthening a close partnership that has been a key factor in achieving LANTIRN fully-mission capable rates exceeding 90 percent.
"The renewal of this contract represents much more than the renewal of the successful public-private partnership between the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin," said Marty Hutchinson, Air Force Precision Attack System program director at Warner Robins AFB. "It represents the continuation of our joint commitment to meeting the worldwide mission needs of LANTIRN Warfighters by providing them timely and highly effective LANTIRN support."
LANTIRN Extended Range (ER), an upgraded version of the highly successful LANTIRN, allows aircrews to operate in daylight or darkness, at mission altitudes from sea level to 40,000 feet, all with outstanding targeting performance. LANTIRN ER is offered as a newly fabricated pod, or as an upgrade to existing pods. The LANTIRN ER targeting pod is deployed and combat-proven on the U.S. Navy S-3B, and is integrated and tested on the P-3.
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Contract win, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), USAF (US Air Force)
Lockheed Martin Awarded Arizona Support Center Contract for M-TADS/PNVS
Lockheed Martin Awarded Arizona Support Center Contract for M-TADS/PNVSMarch 11, 2010 10:25:00 AM
ORLANDO, FL, -- The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a contract to support the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (TADS/PNVS) and Modernized TADS/PNVS (M-TADS/PNVS) systems on the AH-64 Apache helicopter at the Arizona Support Center (ASC). The contract has a potential value of $36.8 million for the next three years. Located in Gilbert, AZ, the Arizona Support Center inducts, refurbishes and modifies legacy TADS/PNVS components to incorporate into the modernized system (M-TADS/PNVS). The contract includes fielding activities associated with the modernization effort. Fielding activities will include sending a team of Orlando-based product support technicians to U.S. Army Apache locations worldwide to install and test newly modified M-TADS/PNVS systems on the aircraft.
"M-TADS/PNVS has consistently proven its effectiveness on the battlefield," said David Belvin, director of Apache M-TADS/PNVS and Support Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "This contract allows for the continued fielding of this crucial capability to the Warfighter."
M-TADS/PNVS is an advanced electro-optical fire control system that provides AH-64D Apache helicopter pilots with advanced targeting and pilotage capabilities that result in enhanced mission effectiveness during day, night and/or adverse-weather missions.
"Every Apache battalion deployed in support of current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is equipped with the M-TADS/PNVS system," said Col. Shane Openshaw, Program Manager for Apache. "The system is the number one Apache pilot request since 1997. Apache performance remains outstanding from the factory to the foxhole."
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AH-64 Apache, Contract win, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)
LONGBOW LLC Awarded $86 Million to Support and Sustain U.K. Apache Attack Helicopters — Press Release
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Countries, England, Events, Lockheed Martin, Military Aviation, Northrop Grumman Corp., Press Releases, logistics, production program
LONGBOW LLC Awarded $86 Million to Support and Sustain U.K. Apache Attack Helicopters
ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ — The LONGBOW Limited Liability Company, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) , was recently awarded an $86 million contract from AgustaWestland to support LONGBOW FCR systems on the United Kingdom Apache AH Mk-1 aircraft.
“The LONGBOW FCR is an essential element of U.K. Apache operations in Afghanistan,” said Jerry Garman, LONGBOW LLC president and director of LONGBOW programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Through this partnership with AgustaWestland, we will ensure the highest operational availability and system reliability at the lowest sustainment cost.”
The four-year contract includes engineering services, integrated logistics and an in-country repair capability. Support services will continue through March 2014, and will be performed at Wattisham Airfield in the U.K.; Lockheed Martin facilities in Ocala and Orlando, FL; and Northrop Grumman facilities in Baltimore, MD.
The contract is a component of the integrated operational support provided by AgustaWestland to the Ministry of Defence. A formal signing ceremony at the U.K. Apache main operating base at Wattisham Airfield in October marked the launch of this effort.
For more than a decade, the LONGBOW FCR has provided Apache aircrews with target detection, location, classification and prioritization. In all weather, over multiple terrains and through any battlefield obscurant, the radar allows automatic and rapid multi-target engagement. The LONGBOW FCR integrates with the M299 smart launcher and the LONGBOW HELLFIRE missile, enhancing the Apache’s lethality fourfold and increasing survivability sevenfold.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.
For additional information, visit our web sites:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/
http://www.northropgrumman.com/
Source: Lockheed Martin
LONGBOW LLC Awarded $86 Million to Support and Sustain U.K. Apache Attack Helicopters
Filed under: Lockheed Martin, Syndicated Industry News
February 22, 2010 9:46:00 AM
ORLANDO, Fla., -- The LONGBOW Limited Liability Company, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), was recently awarded an $86 million contract from AgustaWestland to support LONGBOW FCR systems on the United Kingdom Apache AH Mk-1 aircraft.
"The LONGBOW FCR is an essential element of U.K. Apache operations in Afghanistan," said Jerry Garman, LONGBOW LLC president and director of LONGBOW programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Through this partnership with AgustaWestland, we will ensure the highest operational availability and system reliability at the lowest sustainment cost."
The four-year contract includes engineering services, integrated logistics and an in-country repair capability. Support services will continue through March 2014, and will be performed at Wattisham Airfield in the U.K.; Lockheed Martin facilities in Ocala and Orlando, FL; and Northrop Grumman facilities in Baltimore, MD.
The contract is a component of the integrated operational support provided by AgustaWestland to the Ministry of Defence. A formal signing ceremony at the U.K. Apache main operating base at Wattisham Airfield in October marked the launch of this effort.
For more than a decade, the LONGBOW FCR has provided Apache aircrews with target detection, location, classification and prioritization. In all weather, over multiple terrains and through any battlefield obscurant, the radar allows automatic and rapid multi-target engagement. The LONGBOW FCR integrates with the M299 smart launcher and the LONGBOW HELLFIRE missile, enhancing the Apache's lethality fourfold and increasing survivability sevenfold.
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AgustaWestland, AH-64 Apache Helicopter, Contract $100m, Contract Win, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)
Lockheed Martin Completes Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb Flight Test Program — Press Release
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Congress, Events, IT, Lockheed Martin, Press Releases, logistics
Lockheed Martin Completes Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb Flight Test Program
ARCHBALD, Pa., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has successfully completed the paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) F/A-18 qualification flight test program. The paveway II Plus LGB uses an enhanced laser guidance package, significantly improving the precision of current paveway II LGBs.
The final mission of the paveway II Plus flight test program consisted of four GBU-10s released from two U.S. Navy Super Hornets at the Navy’s China Lake, CA, test ranges. Each weapon included the new paveway II Plus MAU-209C/B computer control group. These four weapons, combined with two released in a prior mission, demonstrated the successful guidance characteristics and improved impact performance of the paveway II Plus weapon system.
“The performance demonstrated during this test program confirmed the precision and pinpoint accuracy of paveway II Plus,” said George Kosik, paveway advanced development manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “We look forward to demonstrating the same exceptional improvement in capabilities during the upcoming F-16 portion of the flight test program.”
Lockheed Martin is a qualified provider of the paveway II LGB, of all three variants of the paveway II MK-80 series LGBs, and is the sole provider of the paveway II Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round and Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb.
Paveway II LGB guidance kits improve weapon accuracy and reduce risk to U.S. and allied ground forces by converting gravity weapons into precision-guided munitions. Each kit consists of a computer control group, which is the front-end guidance system, plus an air foil group which adds stability fins on the back of each weapon.
Lockheed Martin’s LGB kits can be carried on U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and most international aircraft platforms currently authorized to carry and release LGBs. Kits are fully compatible and interoperable with existing paveway II LGB logistics infrastructure, equipment, procedures and aircrew operations.
Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 55,000 LGB kits to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and international customers. Laser-guided bombs have been used successfully in Operation Iraqi Freedom and current overseas contingency operations.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.
For additional information, visit our website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/
Lockheed Martin Completes Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb Flight Test Program
Filed under: Lockheed Martin, Syndicated Industry News
February 17, 2010 9:59:00 AM
ARCHBALD, PA, -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has successfully completed the paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) F/A-18 qualification flight test program. The paveway II Plus LGB uses an enhanced laser guidance package, significantly improving the precision of current paveway II LGBs. The final mission of the paveway II Plus flight test program consisted of four GBU-10s released from two U.S. Navy Super Hornets at the Navy's China Lake, CA, test ranges. Each weapon included the new paveway II Plus MAU-209C/B computer control group. These four weapons, combined with two released in a prior mission, demonstrated the successful guidance characteristics and improved impact performance of the paveway II Plus weapon system.
"The performance demonstrated during this test program confirmed the precision and pinpoint accuracy of paveway II Plus," said George Kosik, paveway advanced development manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "We look forward to demonstrating the same exceptional improvement in capabilities during the upcoming F-16 portion of the flight test program."
Lockheed Martin is a qualified provider of the paveway II LGB, of all three variants of the paveway II MK-80 series LGBs, and is the sole provider of the paveway II Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round and Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb.
Paveway II LGB guidance kits improve weapon accuracy and reduce risk to U.S. and allied ground forces by converting gravity weapons into precision-guided munitions. Each kit consists of a computer control group, which is the front-end guidance system, plus an air foil group which adds stability fins on the back of each weapon.
Lockheed Martin's LGB kits can be carried on U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and most international aircraft platforms currently authorized to carry and release LGBs. Kits are fully compatible and interoperable with existing paveway II LGB logistics infrastructure, equipment, procedures and aircrew operations.
Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 55,000 LGB kits to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and international customers. Laser-guided bombs have been used successfully in Operation Iraqi Freedom and current overseas contingency operations.
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Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Missiles
Lockheed Martin Awarded $49.5 Million TADS/PNVS AND M-TADS/PNVS Support Contract
Filed under: Lockheed Martin, Syndicated Industry News
February 16, 2010 2:42:00 PM
ORLANDO, FL, February 16th, 2010 -- AgustaWestland has awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $49.5 million sustainment and support contract for the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (TADS/PNVS) and Modernized TADS/PNVS (M-TADS/PNVS) systems on the U.K. Apache AH Mk-1 aircraft.
The contract provides complete post-production services, including spare parts, in-country repair and technical services, as well as integrated logistics, engineering and depot repair support. The effort is part of the overall Integrated Operational Support (IOS) solution for the U.K. Apache fleet provided by AgustaWestland to the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD). Support under the contract will continue through March 2014.
"This support contract will provide the necessary services to maintain the M-TADS/PNVS system in support of U.K. Apache operational needs," said Tom Eldredge, Apache Fire Control International programs director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Our team is in position and is providing a cost-effective support solution that meets the needs of the Soldiers."
For AgustaWestland, the support arrangement is a strategy for TADS/PNVS and M-TADS/PNVS product support that helps enable their overall IOS objective of an integrated performance package designed to optimize system readiness. The AgustaWestland IOS contract enables faster and more efficient technical solutions because the contractor assumes responsibility for total performance of a weapon system.
"The Apache is proving itself as one of the great success stories of defense procurement," said Graham Cole, managing director at AgustaWestland. "The M-TADS/PNVS is making a very real operational difference in theater."
The support contract will support both the legacy TADS/PNVS and Modernized TADS/PNVS through the end of the upgrade and integration process. Support activities will be performed in the U.K. and Orlando, FL.
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AgustaWestland, AH-64 Apache Helicopter, Contract $50m, Contract Win, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)
Successful Test of Lockheed Martin’s Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile Validates Missile Upgrades
Filed under: Lockheed Martin, Syndicated Industry News
2/1/2010 4:17:00 PM
Orlando, FL, February 1st, 2010 -- A Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) underwent a successful Product Upgrade Verification (PUV) flight test on January 12 at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The missile was released from a B-52 aircraft and successfully navigated through a preplanned route before destroying its intended target.
The primary test objectives of this flight were to provide final validation of a new missile control unit, recently upgraded actuator control electronics and a digital engine controller. The upgrades enhance missile performance and eliminate the risk of future component obsolescence.
“This flight test continues our successful efforts to expand missile capability and demonstrate reliability,” said Alan Jackson, JASSM program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Flight validation of JASSM upgraded electronic subassemblies allows us to proceed with JASSM production well into the next decade.”
JASSM is ahead of schedule to meet the new goal of 90 percent reliability by Lot 11. JASSM-Extended Range (ER), the longer range version of JASSM, has a 100 percent success rate. The ER system is 6 for 6 in flight tests.
JASSM continues to be a critical weapon for the U.S. Air Force, with the eighth production lot under contract toward a total objective of 4,900 JASSMs and JASSM-ER. The baseline JASSM is also being produced for foreign military sale. Its ability to be integrated on multiple aircraft has been successfully demonstrated on the B-1, B-2, B-52 and F-16 aircraft. Future platforms include the F-15E, F/A-18 and F-35.
The missile is produced at Lockheed Martin’s award-winning manufacturing facility in Troy, AL. Lockheed Martin has assembled approximately 960 JASSM missiles in Troy since late 1999 for testing and for operational use.
A 2,000-pound class weapon with a penetrator/blast fragmentation warhead, JASSM cruises autonomously in adverse weather, day or night, using a state-of-the-art infrared seeker in addition to the anti-jam GPS to find a specific aimpoint on the target. Its stealthy airframe makes it extremely difficult to defeat.
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Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Missiles, JASSM
Lockheed Martin Delivers First Production F-35 Electro-Optical Targeting System — Press Release
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Events, Lockheed Martin, Military Aviation, Press Releases, development program, production program
Lockheed Martin Delivers First Production F-35 Electro-Optical Targeting System
ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has marked successful entry into low rate initial production on the F-35 Lightning II Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS). The first production units have been delivered to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, TX, for integration onto the aircraft.
Embedded into the F-35’s fuselage with an innovative faceted sapphire window, the low-drag, stealthy EOTS is the world’s first and only sensor combining forward-looking infrared and infrared search and track functionality. The F-35 EOTS will provide Lightning II pilots with significant air-to-air and air-to-ground situational awareness in a single compact and completely passive sensor.
“Our team looks forward to meeting its commitment to provide a superior targeting system to F-35 pilots around the world as we gear up to produce more than 3,000 units,” said Rich Hinkle, program director of F-35 Lightning II EOTS at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This delivery marks a pivotal achievement for the EOTS as we transition from a system design and development program to a production program.”
The F-35 EOTS production is ramping up to produce up to 200 units a year. “The outlook for the F-35 program is very strong,” Hinkle said. “Our success in supporting the program is vital to the F-35’s mission to provide dominant airpower across the full air-to-air, air-to-ground mission spectrum.”
The latest generation infrared sensor technology, the F-35 EOTS builds upon the success of Lockheed Martin’s Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod to provide high-resolution imagery, automatic target tracking, infrared-search-and-track, laser designation and range finding, as well as laser spot tracking–all at greatly increased standoff ranges. Modular components allow the F-35 EOTS to be maintained on the flight line for true two-level maintenance.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.
For additional information, visit our website:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/
Source: Lockheed Martin
CONTACT: Heather Kelly of Lockheed Martin, +1-407-356-5351,
heather.kelly@lmco.com
Web Site: http://www.lmco.com/
Lockheed Martin Introduces Ruggedized Ground Sensor Mast For Enhanced Battlefield Surveillance
Filed under: Lockheed Martin, Syndicated Industry News
September 9, 2009
ORLANDO, FL -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today introduced a new, state-of-the art, robust Common Mast System to support ground vehicle sensors, providing Warfighters significantly enhanced situational awareness in all battlefield conditions.
The Lockheed Martin Common Mast System (CMS) is a highly-stable, elevated sensor platform for ground vehicles, providing unprecedented support for sensor operation in any elevated position while on-the-move or in defilade.
Developed entirely as a Lockheed Martin independent research and development program, the Common Mast System is a revolutionary design with significant improvements over current sensor mounts. While traditional platforms mount the sensor at the roofline, the Lockheed Martin CMS can elevate the sensor suite up to 5 meters above ground level. Once elevated, the CMS can remain extended at vehicle speeds up to 30 kilometers-per-hour for enhanced line-of-sight over rolling terrain, low buildings, heavy shrubbery, low tree lines and other obstructions.
"Long-range enhanced surveillance of the battlefield provides Warfighters with an added level of protection," said Mike Taylor, director of Ground Sensor Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Lockheed Martin's new Common Mast System rapidly deploys for reconnaissance missions in adverse weather and varying terrains, allowing the Warfighter to see first, understand first, act first and finish decisively with minimal exposure."
The innovative CMS design also isolates the sensor from vehicle vibration and allows the user to operate the sensor from inside the vehicle's protective armor. Lockheed Martin's design features internal cabling, rapid stowage and shielding for vital components against sand, dust, rain and extreme temperatures on the battlefield.
Vertical load testing has verified fully-extended CMS operation while supporting payloads up to 600 pounds. Lockheed Martin can integrate the ruggedized CMS with advanced sensor technology on current force vehicles, with the potential for use on future manned and unmanned combat vehicles.
Lockheed Martin will demonstrate CMS publicly for the first time at the 2009 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition, which runs October 5-7, at the Washington Convention Center.
Lockheed Martin is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the Warfighter including over a decade of expertise in engineering and producing ground sensor systems. Additional technological advancements in ground sensors will focus on enhancing current force vehicle capabilities as well as emerging ground combat vehicle improvements.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.
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Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)
Department of Defense Contracts Awarded on March 28, 2008
NAVY
Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded a $10,399,123,179 modification to convert a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-07-C-0001) to a fixed-price-incentive-fee multiyear contract for the manufacture and delivery of 141 MV-22 (Marine variant) and 26 CV-22 (Air Force variant) tiltrotor aircraft, including associated rate tooling in support of production rates. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pa. (50 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (35 percent); and Amarillo, Texas (15 percent), and work is expected to be completed in Oct. 2014. Contract funds in the amount of $24,218,579 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
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