Lockheed lands $14M contract to upgrade U.S. Army attack helicopter

Lockheed Martin announced Monday it has been awarded a $14 million contract from the U.S. Army to upgrade and modernize the turret on the army’s Apache attack helicopter.

The High Reliability Turret is the interface between the M-TADS/PNVS and the Apache airframe. It will target track performance and minimize the effects of aircraft vibration on the system. The turret also improves M-TADS/PNVS reliability and maintainability, as well as reducing the operations and support costs of the existing turret assembly. It will potentially save the U.S. Army more than $500 million in operation and support costs over the life of the system.

Lockheed Martin said in a statement that, work will be performed at its facilities in Orlando and Ocala and will extend through 2017. The potential contract value, including the base contract of $14 million, is approximately $38 million.

“The new turret design will improve system maintainability while providing a more stable and capable foundation for future system enhancements,” said Matt Hoffman, M-TADS/PNVS program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This modification is an affordable solution that will ensure M-TADS/PNVS remains the world’s most advanced electro-optical precision engagement system for the Apache attack helicopter.”

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is the largest R & D and simulation company in Central Florida, with nearly 7,000 people.