By B.C. Kessner
The Air Force recently selected Lockheed Martin [LMT] as the winner of the 60 percent share of the $2.3 billion Advanced Targeting Pod-Sensor Enhancement (ATP-SE) competition that would take its Sniper pod sales above the $1 billion mark if all options are exercised, the company said Wednesday.
“Lockheed Martin is proud to remain the U.S. Air Force’s targeting pod of choice, and we look forward to fielding Sniper in the ATP-SE configuration to provide even greater capability to the Warfighter,” Tom Simmons, vice president of fire control at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said yesterday in a statement.
The company said its Sniper pod offering was determined to be the best overall value to the U.S. government.
Northrop Grumman [NOC] was awarded the remaining 40 percent share to provide its advanced targeting pod under the contract posted on Sept. 30.
Under the terms of the Lockheed Martin contract, the government has options to buy up to 670 pods through 2017. The initial contract value is $23.5 million, which will provide pods for the government’s test program, Lockheed Martin said.
Northrop Grumman received $23.7 million for the first increment.
With new enhanced sensors for combat identification and a two-way datalink, Sniper expands non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and net-centric capabilities, Lockheed Martin said.
Sniper is designed to offer an affordable road map for modernizing and enhancing precision targeting capabilities for Air Force and coalition partner F-15, F-16, A-10, B-1 and B-52 aircraft.
The Sniper pod’s hardware and software configuration provides continued “plug-and-play” flexibility across services and multiple platforms. The Sensor Enhancement configuration is a field-level upgrade to existing pods.