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  October 30, 2019 | International, Naval

  Lockheed Martin Receives A Second E-2D Multi-Year Contract To Provide Electronic Warfare Systems To U.S. Navy

  Owego, N.Y., October 28, 2019 – Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was awarded a second Multi-Year contract for AN/ALQ-217 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) systems for the U.S. Navy's E-2D aircraft program. The five-year $50.9M Multi-Year contract includes the remainder of the 75 E-2D aircraft the US Navy is expected to purchase as part of their current program of record. “We're excited to have the opportunity to continue producing AN/ALQ-217 ESM systems for the U.S. Navy's use on its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft,” Joe Ottaviano, Business Development director, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Sytems said. “In today's environment, our adversaries are developing advanced technologies to disrupt our defenses and we must remain vigilant and stay one step ahead. Having the ability to detect what's in the electromagnetic spectrum first is crucial to the overall aircraft's survivability and the safety of our warfighters.” The AN/ALQ-217 ESM system, currently installed on U.S. Navy and international E-2C and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, provides a full range of ESM operational capabilities. The AN/ALQ-217 ESM system is capable of detecting, intercepting and geolocating RF signals, identifying weapon systems including the type, function and mode of intercepted emitters, while improving situational awareness. The ESM system has three RF operating range bands: low, mid and high; allowing a full 360-degree acquisition coverage in each band, providing a powerful performance. The majority of work will be performed in Owego, New York with deliveries spanning from 2021 through 2024. Lockheed Martin has been the AN/ALQ-217 ESM supplier on the E-2C and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program since 1999. Lockheed Martin has provided more than 7,800 electronic warfare (EW) systems for more than 50 years to the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. EW systems provide electronic attack, electronic protection and electronic support to disrupt adversaries and protect warfighters. Airborne EW systems include the AN/ALQ-210 for U.S. Navy and international MH-60R, AN/ALQ-217 for the U.S. Navy's E-2C/D aircraft, and the APR-52 digital Radar Warning Receiver for U.S. Air Force Combat Rescue Helicopters. Additional airborne platforms include the AH-64D/E Apache Helicopter, B-2 Bomber, Canadian Maritime Helicopter and the CP-140. Naval EW systems include SEWIP Block 2 for aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers, and BLQ-10 and Multi-function Modular Mast (MMM) for Virginia- and Seawolf-class submarines. For additional information, visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/ew About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. View source version on Lockheed Martin: https://news.lockheedmartin.com/lockheed-martin-receives-second-e2d-multi-year-contract-provide-electronic-warfare-systems-us-navy

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  October 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed to research air-dropped packaged missiles in $25M contract

  Ed Adamczyk Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. announced the award of a $25 million contract on Wednesday supporting the use of U.S. Air Force cargo planes to deploy missiles. The contract was issued by the Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office, and is meant to support the fourth phase of the Palletized Munitions Experimentation Campaign, Lockheed said in a press release. The campaign is meant to investigate, and test, the idea of delivering large volumes of air-launched weapons via airlifters. The system uses C-17 and C-130 cargo planes, rolling the packaged missiles onto the planes for high-altitude airdrops to locations where they are needed. "Initial studies show that airlifters have the potential to deploy large quantities of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range missiles, providing a significant increase in long-range standoff scale and complementing traditional strike and bomber aircrafts," Lockheed said in a statement. The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range, or JASSM-ER, is a long-range, conventional, air-to-ground missile used by the United States and allied forces to destroy high-value and well-defended targets. "This innovative approach enables warfighters to launch offensive operations from a greater number of airfields and engage a larger number of near-peer adversarial targets," the company said. Tests with simulated weapons earlier this year demonstrated the feasibility of packing JASSM-ER missiles into modular containers atop standard shipping pallets, and then delivering them through airdrops. "A Palletized Munitions capability could enable various airlift aircraft to employ a range of weapons en masse via a self-contained, roll-on/roll-off palletized system, and may offer an alternative way for the Air Force to bring more mass to the fight," Dr. Dean Evans of the SDPE said after a test in September. "The successful demo represents a key step in SDPE's Palletized Munitions Experimentation Campaign, which will determine if the Palletized Munitions concept is feasible and provides a competitive advantage for the warfighter." The first-of-its-kind test was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The contract announced Wednesday includes a system-level demonstration in 2021 and continuing research of the program's viability. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/10/28/Lockheed-to-research-air-dropped-packaged-missiles-in-25M-contract/8691603902444/?ur3=1

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  September 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land

  Faulty $5 Parts Cause 18-Month, $1 Billion Delay to Navy, Air Force Nuclear Upgrades

  Defects found in a $5 electrical component will delay the Navy and Air Force nuclear warhead refurbishment program by 18 months and cost more than $1 billion to fix, a National Nuclear Security Administration official said during a congressional hearing Wednesday. The faulty components are small commercially available capacitors that were to be used in upgrades to the Navy's W88 nuclear warheads. These weapons are deployed on the Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile systems. Similar capacitors are needed to upgrade the Air Force's B61-12 gravity bomb, Charles Verdon, deputy administrator for defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, told members of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces during the unclassified portion of Wednesday's hearing. When engineers evaluated available parts, they ran tests to determine if the off-the-shelf capacitors were compatible with the systems due for upgrades, Verdon said. Initial results suggested the components would work in the short-term. “Early tests on the capacitors now in question and subsequent tests including component, major assembly and full-up integrated system flight tests demonstrated that these components meet requirement today. Industry best practices were used to stress the components beyond their design planned usage as a way to establish confidence that they will continue to work over the necessary lifetime of the warhead,” Verdon said. “During stress testing, a few of these commercially available capacitors did not meet the reliability requirements.” The problem is, these parts used in the warhead upgrades must survive for decades, up to 30 years after production, Verdon said. However, the quality of each capacitor production lot varied, which led to the stress testing failure. Instead of using the capacitors and risking readiness in the future, Verdon said his agency decided to delay the upgrade work, initially scheduled to begin in December. Replacement capacitors are being produced but will cost about $75 per unit, compared with the $5 per unit cost of the off-the-shelf capacitors that failed stress testing. “The use of commercial-off-the-shelf electric components needs to be improved to reduce future COTS-related risk,” Verdon said. The Navy is working with U.S. Strategic Command to understand how the 18-month delay will affect near-term deployments, Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe, the director of strategic systems programs for the Navy, told the panel. “Currently, today, based on what we're doing with STRATCOM, we will meet the requirements as we move forward,” Wolfe said. The Navy and STRATCOM are developing a mitigation plan which includes is reevaluating how to turn around the submarine-based nuclear missile stockpile and how to schedule warheads for upgrades in the future, Wolfe said. More details on the Navy's plan to be discussed in a classified hearing. “If you look at the age of these systems and the technology we're using, these are tough, tough issues to solve, and it's critical technology that we're learning as we modernize these,” Wolfe said. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), chair of the strategic forces subcommittee, said he held the hearing because he wanted more information on what NNSA was doing to avoid more delays. He called the recapitalization “both necessary and hugely expensive” in his written opening statement. “Maintaining Congress and the public's confidence in these programs, and their effective execution, is imperative,” he wrote. https://news.usni.org/2019/09/25/faulty-5-parts-cause-18-month-1-billion-delay-to-navy-air-force-nuclear-upgrades