Lockheed’s Camden Facility Lands $175 Million Contract To Build Missiles For U.S. Ally

Despite fewer domestic deliveries of air and defense missiles in the first quarter, Lockheed Martin scored another big Pentagon contract recently that will keep workers at the defense giant’s 500-worker facility in Camden humming for quite some time, company officials confirmed on Wednesday.

According to an April 7 contract announcement on the U.S. Department of Defense’s website, Lockheed Martin’s Grand, Prairie, Texas-based Missile and Fire Control (MFC) division was awarded a $174.7 million firm-fixed-price foreign military sales contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a close U.S. partner and Persian Gulf ally.

“Work will be performed in Camden, Arkansas, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2018,” said the DOD notice.

The Bethesda, Md.-based defense contractor offered this statement to Talk Business & Politics:

“Lockheed Martin is pleased to support the U.S. Government in the ATACMS production contract for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and U.S. Army. Lockheed Martin’s Camden, Ark., complex, where the manufacturing work will be performed, is among the premier manufacturing sites in the Unites States, with a strong reputation for on-schedule delivery of high quality products. ATACMS is a long-range, precision-engagement guided missile and has more than 24 years of on-time and on-cost deliveries, with more than 570 missiles fired in battle.”

As the sole bidder for the contract, which was solicited over the Internet, Lockheed will deliver 124 of the U.S. Army’s precision guided missiles systems, also known as M57 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) T2K Unitary Missiles, to UAE. The award also calls for assemblies, test equipment, flight test and associated services, the DOD notice said.

And although Congress is currently considering substantial budget cuts to the 2016 Pentagon budget, many of the nation’s allies are increasing their defense spending and purchases of U.S. military weaponry.

According to DOD, the contract with the UAE will be awarded under fiscal 2010 and 2014 Army funding that was obligated at the time of the award. The new contract was also announced amid declining sales at Lockheed’s Camden facility in the first quarter largely due to fewer domestic deliveries of tactical and air and defense missiles to the Pentagon, as well as falling sales of fire control and precision targeting weaponry used by the nation’s armed forces.

On Tuesday, the defense contracting giant’s earnings report specifically drew out that $275 million in lower sales at its Grand Prairie-based MFC division were due to fewer deliveries of Lockheed’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile and the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), both of which are produced at the defense contractor’s operations facility at Highland Industrial Park in Camden.

Lockheed is also awaiting the award of two other major Pentagon contracts. The DOD is expected to decide later this summer on the award of the final contract for a $30 billion Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) project, or next-generation HUMVEE. If Lockheed Martin wins the contract against rivals Oshkosh and AM General, the Maryland based defense giant has said it will perform final assembly of JLTV at its operations facility in Camden.

Lockheed has also teamed with Boeing Co. to bid on a contract to build a new long-range bomber for the Air Force worth over $80 billion. Northrop Grumman Corp. is also competing for that contract, which is also expected to be announced later this summer.