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Thursday, Jul. 09, 2009

Lockheed Martin awarded contract extension

Lockheed Martin Corp. has won a five-year, $60 million extension on a contract to support the LANTIRN targeting system.

The extension continues a contract that has been in place since 1998 and will keep the LANTIRN Worldwide Depot at Robins Air Force Base until at least 2014.

The LANTIRN system, which stands for Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, is used in several of the Air Force’s fighter jets, including the F-15s, which are regularly flown into Robins for repairs. The LANTIRN system provides pilots with daytime and nighttime visibility of target areas “from sea level to 40,000 feet,” according to a Lockheed Martin profile of the system.

The system was first introduced in combat during the 1991 Gulf War. It is also mounted onto the F-16, among other aircraft.

Lockheed Martin estimates that about 40 employees are on its payroll because of the LANTIRN contract.

“This current contract is going to keep the current employment figures where they are,” Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Heather Kelly said. The LANTIRN Worldwide Depot at Robins repairs LANTIRN systems for U.S. Air Force aircraft and systems mounted onto foreign nation’s aircraft, according to a Lockheed Martin news release. Lockheed Martin received $588.4 million in contracts to support Robins Air Force Base operations in fiscal 2008, according to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. Only General Dynamics Corp. received a larger share of Robins contracts than Lockheed Martin in the same time period.

To contact writer Thomas L. Day, call 923-6199, extension 239.