The Lockheed Martin logo is seen during the 70th Annual International Astronautical Congress at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on October 22, 2019.
Mandel Yan | AFP | Getty Images
Lockheed Martin NASA has been awarded a $17 billion contract to develop a next-generation interceptor to protect the United States from intercontinental ballistic missiles, two industry sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The win is a shot in the arm for Lockheed after the U.S. said it would begin reducing F-35 orders and the Army said in February it would abandon development of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, the next-generation aircraft Lockheed has submitted. helicopter.
The multi-year contract could be awarded as early as Monday by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, which is developing next-generation interceptors to modernize the current Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program, radar networks, anti-ballistic missiles and other designs. Protection from intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Affected by this news, Lockheed’s stock price rose more than 1% on Monday.
Lockheed and the Missile Defense Agency declined to comment. The source did not disclose the length of the contract, but the first interceptor is expected to enter service in 2028.
NGI is currently in the technology development phase and will transition to product development in May, according to written testimony submitted last week by Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, director of the Missile Defense Agency.
Collins said the agency will choose either Lockheed or Northrop Grumman Corporation for this program. In 2021, two companies were awarded separate contracts to develop missile designs.
In 2019, the Pentagon canceled a boeing company The project cost $1.2 billion, but due to technical design issues, the project signed a contract for a “kill vehicle”, an interceptor with a tip that can separate and “kill” incoming warheads in space.
The United States subsequently decided to reopen the contract process to collect bids for the design of the entire interceptor, including the “kill vehicle.” Boeing was eliminated from the 2021 competition.
The next-generation interceptor program is worth about $17.7 billion over its lifetime, according to government estimates, as contractors work to make the technology capable of defeating current ballistic missile threats as well as future technological advances from countries such as North Korea and Iran.
In January, Lockheed forecast its 2024 profit to be below Wall Street expectations as the defense contractor’s largest aerospace unit, which makes the F-35 jet, faces supply chain hurdles.
According to Reuters, Lockheed will cut 1% of its workforce during 2024 to cut costs and streamline operations.
U.S. defense giants have benefited from strong demand for weapons as geopolitical tensions have heightened over the past two years. U.S. military equipment sales to foreign governments increased by 16% in 2023, reaching a record $238 billion.
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