Lockheed Martin [LMT] yesterday said it has received a $353.2 million Army follow-on contract for the seventh production lot of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary rockets.
Designed to destroy targets at ranges up to 70 kilometers, GMLRS is an all-weather, rapidly deployable, long-range rocket that delivers precision strike beyond the range of most conventional weapons. GMLRS Unitary rockets have achieved a combat-reliability rate of 98 percent and have established a reputation for affordability.
Rockets from this production lot will be supplied to the U.S. Army and Marines, and to the armies of Italy, Jordan and Singapore. This contract is Italy’s first purchase of GMLRS rockets.
The deliveries are scheduled to begin in December 2013, with the work performed at company sites in Camden, Ark., and Dallas, Texas.
“GMLRS continues to be the long-range precision-fire weapon of choice when commanders need to decisively and accurately attack high value targets while minimizing the risk of collateral damage,” said Lt. Col. T.J. Wright, the U.S. Army’s product manager for Precision Guided Missiles and Rockets. “This contract award will result in the delivery of a critical capability to our warfighters who rely on GMLRS to deliver all-weather, 24/7 responsive fires when they need it most.”
Scott Arnold, vice president of precision fires in Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business, said: “U.S. and allied forces have fired more than 2,200 of these precision munitions in support of military operations.
Each GMLRS rocket is packaged in an MLRS launch pod and is fired from the Lockheed Martin HIMARS or M270 family of launchers.
Using company funds, Lockheed Martin is developing and testing a longer-range GMLRS+ rocket, with a reach of more than 120 kilometers.