The U.S. Department of Defense and defense giant Lockheed Martin announced on Friday an agreement worth about $347 million as part of a multi-year hypersonic weapons development in support of the Army’s focus in long-range precision strike missiles.
The Lockheed Martin-team will develop and integrate a land-based hypersonic strike prototype in partnership with the Army Hypersonic Project Office, part of the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office.
The team includes: Dynetics Technical Solutions (DTS), Integration Innovation Inc. (i3), Verity Integrated Systems, Martinez & Turek, and Penta Research.
“Lockheed Martin is driving rapid technical development for these national priority programs,” said Eric Scherff, vice president for Hypersonic Strike Programs for Lockheed Martin Space. “There are natural synergies with our industry teammates. We believe our relationships offer the Army unmatched expertise and puts us in the best position to deliver this critical capability to the nation. Lockheed Martin is proud to partner with the Army in integrating the common hypersonic glide body and the land-based hypersonic strike weapon system prototype. We are committed to combining the best of what our companies have to offer to deliver on this national priority program.”
Hypersonic strike weapons, capable of flying speeds in excess of Mach 5, are a key aspect of the long-range precision fire modernization effort for the Army and the national security strategy to compete with and outpace potential threats.
LRHW program work will be performed at Lockheed Martin’s Alabama, Colorado, California and Texas facilities.
The U.S. Army is aiming to get first long-range hypersonic weapon experimental prototype by the fiscal year 2023, according to a recently published article at Army AL&T magazine.
Army’s magazine has reported that the new land-based, truck-launched system should be armed with hypersonic missiles that can travel well over 3,800 miles per hour.
