Company Watch - Lockheed Martin.

Sep 3, 2007

India invites bids for $10 billion combat plane contract. India has invited six aircraft manufacturers, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, to bid by March 3 on a combat plane contract worth up to $10 billion. Russia's MIG-35, Sweden's JAS-39, France's Dassault Rafale, Lockheed's F-16, Boeing's F/A-18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon are all in the running. India plans to buy 126 of the warplanes. Aug 29, 2007

Boeing, Lockheed Martin bid to work on GPS III. Lockheed Martin and Boeing have both bid to work on the first phase of a military contract worth up to $2 billion. The Air Force is replacing 24 of 32 satellites in orbit to create Global Positioning System III, a tamper-resistant system that should improve navigation by air, land and sea. The contract, which will be awarded later this year, calls for eight satellites to be delivered by 2013. Aug 28, 2007

Pentagon has awarded contracts worth $104 billion so far this year. So far this year, about 65,000 contractors were awarded defense contracts or modifications worth about $104 billion, with Boeing and Lockheed Martin receiving $4.1 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively. Aug 28, 2007

NextGen will attack the delay problem head on by dramatically increasing air traffic efficiency." The ITT team comprises AT&T, Thales North America, WSI, SAIC, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Aerospace Engineering, Sunhillo, Comsearch, MCS of Tampa, Pragmatics, Washington Consulting Group, Aviation Communications and Surveillance Systems, Sandia Aerospace and NCR Corp. Also competing for the contract were teams led by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Aug 31, 2007

Lockheed seeks Pentagon approval to reduce JSF testing. Lockheed Martin is asking the Defense Department to approve a reduced testing schedule for the Joint Strike Fighter program. The contractor wants to use the money saved to replenish a reserve fund that has dropped from about $2 billion to $392 million. If the reserve is not built back up, the company will almost certainly have to ask Congress for more funds. Thomas Christie, who endorsed the original test program as head of Pentagon testing, has reservations, saying that testing is too often cut when companies want to keep costs down. "History is replete with the consequences of this misguided thinking," he said. Aug 30, 2007

Lockheed lands defense IT contract worth up to $186 million: Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Services has been awarded a $35.3 million contract for information systems support services for the U.S. Joint Forces Command. The contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the value of the contract to $186 million. Work is expected to be completed by October 2008. Aug 29, 2007

Lockheed sees infotech as future growth area. Keeping ahead of a projected decline in defense spending as the war in Iraq eventually winds down, Lockheed Martin is guarding its bottom line by shifting more of its resources to information technology. Robert Stevens, Lockheed's chairman, president and CEO, said in a recent presentation that the company's "goal is to be the partner of choice for governments around the world as they look for private-sector help in improving public-service delivery." Aug 29, 2007

GAO urges Air Force to take another look at helicopter contract. The Government Accountability Office has upheld a second protest by Lockheed Martin and United Technologies' Sikorsky helicopter unit. The companies are protesting the award of a $10 billion Air Force contract to Boeing, contending that the Air Force didn't take into consideration all of the costs associated with operating and maintaining the aircraft. Sue Payton, assistant Air Force secretary for acquisitions, said the Air Force is "reviewing the GAO decision and developing our plan of action to address the findings." Aug 31, 2007

First next-gen ATC contract to be awarded this week. The first step toward an updated, satellite-based air traffic control system will be taken up this week when the government awards a $1 billion contract to the company that will build the new system's key components. Raytheon, ITT and Lockheed Martin have bid on the work. Aug 27, 2007

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