LOCKHEED MARTIN TEAMS AWARDED MAJOR SATELLITE AND
AIRBORNE LASER
CONTRACTS
A Lockheed Martin team, which included Honeywell and
California-based Northrop Grumman and Aerojet, won a coveted $1.8
billion contract to build satellites for the Pentagon's
next-generation missile warning system. Including the initial
order and potential follow up contracts, the project could mean
billions of dollars of additional revenue for Lockheed Martin over
the next thirty years. The new system, known as Space-Based
Infrared System (SBIRS), replaces the dated Defense Support
Program system of satellites and eventually could include a
combination of more than a dozen high- and low-earth orbiting
satellites which result in a new surveillance system to detect and
track ballistic missiles in an attack on the U.S.
Also this month, a Lockheed Martin/Boeing/TRW team was
awarded a $1.1 billion contract to develop and flight test the new
Airborne Laser Weapon System Program. Under the contract, the
three companies, working as Team ABL, will demonstrate the
efficacy of airborne laser technology in shooting down theater
ballistic missiles from a distance of hundreds of kilometers.
This controversial laser concept has been under development since
President Reagan proposed the creation of a "Star Wars" missile
defense. Pentagon and Congressional supporters now argue that
missile defenses are necessary for U.S. protection against
potential threats from rogue states.

Volume 3, Bulletin 40 -- Nov. 20, 1996