The U.S.
Army awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] $206 million in additional orders
for the AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53), a long-range counterfire radar that provides
soldiers with enhanced 360-degree protection from indirect fire. This
contract is for 19 Q-53 systems, formerly designated as EQ-36. |
To
date Lockheed Martin has delivered 32 initial production systems to the
U.S. Army and is currently producing an additional 33 systems, which were
awarded in March 2012. This latest contract builds on those 33 systems
currently in production.
“The Q-53 radar is helping to save the lives of U.S. forces through
its exceptional performance in theater” said Lee Flake, program
director for counterfire target acquisition radar programs at Lockheed
Martin’s Mission Systems & Training business. “Deployed
since 2010, we have listened to feedback from our soldiers to ensure the
system meets operational demands and is evolving to stay ahead of global
threats.”
Mounted on a five-ton truck, the Q-53 can be rapidly deployed, automatically
leveled and remotely operated with a laptop computer or from a fully equipped
climate-controlled command vehicle.
Lockheed Martin won the competitive development contract for the Q-53
radar – then known as EQ-36 – in 2007. Responding to urgent
need statements from theater and following early program successes, the
Army awarded the company an accelerated contract for 12 initial production
systems in July 2008 and a contract with options for an additional 20
systems in April 2010. The Army began deploying Q-53 systems to combat
in Iraq and Afghanistan in fall 2010. The March 2012 contract for 33 systems
was a combination of low-rate initial production orders one and two.
Work on the Q-53 radar contract will be performed at Lockheed Martin facilities
in Syracuse, N.Y., Moorestown, N.J., Akron, Ohio, and Clearwater, Fla.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and
aerospace company that employs about 116,000 people worldwide and is principally
engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration,
and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.
The Corporation’s net sales for 2012 were $47.2 billion. |