The US Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $108 million contract for the Mark21A Reentry Vehicle (Mk21A) Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) contract.
Atlas ICBM (Picture source: Lockheed Martin)
The potential value of the contract is estimated at $138 million: $108 million awarded in the three-year contract and $30 million as a potential one-year contract.
"It is essential that Lockheed Martin continue our long-standing ICBM partnership with the Air Force to provide them with advanced solutions. We will continue to demonstrate, through this TMRR, cutting-edge engineering to defeat rogue nation threats," said John Snyder, vice president of Advanced Strategic Programs for Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin’s legacy in developing operational intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) officially began in 1955 when the U.S. Air Force awarded the contract for the Atlas ICBM. The Atlas D missile went on alert Oct. 31, 1959, becoming the first-ever operational ICBM. Lockheed Martin has continuously supported the Air Force’s ICBM mission since the beginning, as the developer of the Atlas, Titan, MX Peacekeeper and Small ICBMs, and as the leading provider of reentry systems for multiple ICBM generations and of ground command and control systems for today’s Minuteman III. Lockheed Martin’s 50-year-plus ICBM heritage includes delivering more than 700 missiles and more than 3,000 reentry vehicles to the Air Force.
Lockheed Martin will work closely with the Air Force and the National Nuclear Security Administration to provide a technically low risk and affordable solution to modify existing Mk21 reentry vehicles with the capability to deliver the W87-1 Warhead for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Weapon System.
The Mk21A TMRR contract is a key element of Lockheed Martin's strategy to remain the Air Force's trusted partner for ICBM Reentry Systems and modernization of the deterrent triad.
Lockheed Martin has continuously supported the Air Force’s ICBM mission since the beginning, as the developer of the Atlas, Titan, MX Peacekeeper and Small ICBMs, and as the leading provider of reentry systems for multiple ICBM generations and of ground command and control systems for today’s Minuteman III (Picture source: Lockheed Martin)
