The Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a $383-million contract to operate and maintain the Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS), a tethered aerostat that provides surveillance and reconnaissance for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

PTDS carries multiple sensors and operates around-the-clock to provide real time information to the soldiers.

The program is run out of the Army’s Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors for robotic and unmanned sensors.