June 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Joe Gould
WASHINGTON ― Lockheed Martin has sent $1.1 billion in accelerated payment to support its network of suppliers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced Friday.
The defense contracting giant has also hired 8,300 employees since the crisis began in March, with plans to hire 3,200 more before the end of the year. The hires mark a contrast with the rest of the U.S. economy, which saw the unemployment rate hit 13 percent this month and began a recession in February.
“In this volatile environment, it is more important than ever before to maintain the operations of the defense industrial base and support our men and women in uniform,” Lockheed's new president and CEO, Jim Taiclet, said in a statement.
Ever since the Pentagon announced it would speed progress payments to its suppliers to keep cash flowing in the defense-industrial base, it says it has made $3 billion in contract obligations. The Pentagon is working to support smaller firms in particular.
Lockheed Martin said Friday it has “flowed all of the accelerated payments it has received from the Department of Defense to its supply chain, giving priority to small and vulnerable suppliers, as we continue our efforts to mitigate COVID-19 risks and promote a healthy Defense Industrial Base.”
This wasn't the only good news for the sector this week. Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said at a Monday news conference that nearly all of the defense firms closed by the pandemic have reopened.
“We see an enormous amount of recovery in the defense-industrial base. It depends on location and what type of work is being performed, but there is enormous progress coming back,” Lord said. “Obviously for manufacturing we need people on the line, so we're doing things differently in terms of following [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's] guidelines and so forth.”
Still, the Pentagon expects to see “inefficiencies” across most programs as well as cost growth. “COVID-19 is shutting down defense manufacturing facilities and production lines, disrupting supply chains, and distressing the financial stability of the companies DoD relies on to protect the nation,” Lord said.
Due to the effects of the pandemic, Lockheed said it would slow F-35 production, leaving it anywhere from 18 to 24 jets short of the 141 scheduled for delivery this year.
September 15, 2021 | International, Aerospace
The United Kingdom, Sweden, and Italy are jointly developing cutting-edge technologies to feed into the Future Combat Air System effort.
April 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Melbourne, Fla. April 23, 2020 - The U.S. Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has awarded L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) a five-year, $500 million ceiling, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract — with an initial delivery order of $30.6 million — for the Air Force and Army Anti-jam Modem (A3M). A3M provides the Department of the Air Force and Army with a secure, wideband, anti-jam satellite communications terminal modem for tactical satellite communication operations. The contract and order were received in the first quarter of 2020. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200423005148/en/ “With the proliferation and growing sophistication of threats in the electromagnetic spectrum, it has become increasingly important to enhance protected communications capabilities for the warfighter,” said Dana Mehnert, President, Communication Systems, L3Harris. “The A3M technology solution enhances the warfighter's ability to communicate critical data by maintaining resilient and secure satellite communications in highly congested and contested environments that include the presence of adversarial jamming.” L3Harris will collaborate with SMC for the design, development, fabrication, integration, certification and testing of Block 1 modems for use in the Air Force Ground Multiband Terminal and the Army Satellite Transportable Terminal. The jam-resistant modems support SMC's Protected Tactical Waveform technology, an anti-jam capability operating on military satellite communication terminals through the Wideband Global Satcom constellation. The L3Harris modems are optimized for high-rate production and are designed to become an integral part of the service's growing Protected Anti-Jam Tactical Service enterprise. Several airborne and ground-based platforms and thousands of terminals across the Department of Defense have been identified as transition candidates to the Protected Tactical Waveform. About L3Harris Technologies L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers' mission-critical needs. The company provides advanced defense and commercial technologies across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. L3Harris has approximately $18 billion in annual revenue and 50,000 employees, with customers in 130 countries. L3Harris.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations, assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Such statements are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future trends to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements about the value or expected value of orders, contracts or programs and about our system capabilities are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. L3Harris disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200423005148/en/
November 15, 2023 | International, Aerospace
With the Air Force planning to retire the AWACS and replace the B-52's current engines, the contract could last for the remainder of the TF33's life.