Lockheed Martin Signs $16.5 Million Depot Maintenance Agreement With Letterkenny Army Depot

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been awarded a $16.5 million contract from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) to partner with Letterkenny Army Depot to provide life cycle contractor support of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) M270A1 system.

The objectives of the partnership include providing timely and reliable product support for the Warfighter, improving and sustaining core capabilities at Letterkenny Depot, and introducing improved business processes and updated technology to Department of Defense depot maintenance operations and products.

“Letterkenny is the Army’s sole maintenance depot for tactical missile and air defense systems, and I’m proud that we can work with Lockheed Martin to support the Warfighter and save taxpayer money,” said Col. Robert A. Swenson, commander - Letterkenny Army Depot.

“This is a great example of government/corporate partnership in a depot environment,” said Lt. Col. John A. Chicoli, U.S. Army product manager – Field Artillery Launchers. “This newly established repair capability will allow Letterkenny to provide more efficient lifecycle contractor support for this highly effective system.”

The contract provides for Lockheed Martin and Letterkenny Depot to grow their existing working relationships and to explore the potential for new relationships. Work on the contract is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2009.

“This partnership with our customer demonstrates our commitment to their mission success,” said Rick Edwards, vice president of Tactical Missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The contract facilitates close collaboration between our company, AMCOM and Letterkenny, and promotes our mutual objective: to support the Warfighter by providing accurate, reliable weapon systems.”

The agreement supports the objectives of Title 10 U.S.C. 2474, the Department of Defense Policy for Public-Private Partnerships for Depot Maintenance.

Letterkenny Depot is the Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for Air Defense and Tactical Missile Ground Support Equipment. This includes facilities, personnel and equipment to perform total depot maintenance rebuild/overhaul of tactical missile systems and air defense systems. Individual components include radars, launchers, information control centers, communication centers, power plants, trailers, vehicles, FLIR and generators. Capabilities include electronics repair, integrated electronics, multi-layer circuit card repair, vehicular overhaul, metal treatment, plating, hydraulic and pneumatic repair, metal fabrication, cable/harness fabrication and fiber optic cable repair.

HIMARS is the newest member of the MLRS launcher family. Because of its C-130 transportability, HIMARS can be deployed into areas previously inaccessible to heavier launchers. Its fire control system, electronics and communications units are interchangeable with the existing MLRS M270A1 launcher. More than 250 HIMARS/M270A1 systems are operational thus far.