
The U.S. Air Force has picked Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Rockwell Collins [COL] to begin designing a replacement for the aging Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS), which allows command-and-control aircraft to launch land-based, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Rockwell Collins have been awarded three-year contracts valued at $80.8 million and $76.3 million, respectively, for the ALCS Replacement (ALCS-R) program's technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase, the Air Force announced late Oct. 3.Each company is expected to…