Army asks Lockheed Martin to provide ground support equipment for long-range hypersonic strike missile

May 22, 2024
Hypersonic strike weapons are a key aspect of the Army's Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) effort to develop long-range artillery-delivered munitions.

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – U.S. Army hypersonic munitions experts are asking Lockheed Martin Corp. to provide ground support equipment for the future Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) under terms of a $756.8 million order announced Friday.

Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., are asking Lockheed Martin Space in Huntsville, Ala., for LRHW ground support gear.

Lockheed Martin is working with the Army on multi-year hypersonic weapons development in support of the Army's focus on long-range precision-strike missiles.

Lockheed Martin is prime contractor for the LRHW systems integration project. The Lockheed Martin-team is developing a land-based hypersonic strike missile prototype in partnership with the Army Hypersonic Project Office.

Related: Raytheon, Northrop Grumman move forward on Glide Phase Intercept (GPI) hypersonic missile defense project

The Lockheed Martin LRHW team includes Leidos Dynetics Technical Solutions (DTS) in Huntsville, Ala.; Integration Innovation Inc. (i3) in Huntsville, Ala.; Verity Integrated Systems in Huntsville, Ala.; Martinez & Turek Inc. in Rialto, Calif.; and Penta Research Inc. in Huntsville, Ala.

The LRHW prototype will capitalize on the DTS Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) prototypes, and introduce a new class of ultrafast and maneuverable long-range missiles with the ability to fire from mobile ground launchers. Hypersonic munitions travel at speeds at least as fast as Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.

Hypersonic strike weapons are a key aspect of the Army's Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) effort to develop long-range artillery-delivered munitions able to fire as far as 187 miles, as well as the national security strategy to compete with and outpace potential enemies in hypersonics.

On this order Lockheed Martin will do the work in Huntsville, Ala., and should be finished by February 2028. For more information contact Lockheed Martin Space online at www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/space.html, or the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-rsa/.

About the Author

John Keller | Editor-in-Chief

John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.

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