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United States : Lockheed wins VADER contract
Publish Date : 09-May-2014
Lockheed Martin has secured an approximately $25 million contract to put together a vehicle and dismounted exploitation radar (VADER) system into a Beechcraft King Air 350ER.
The work to put together VADER – which is likely to be complete by March 2015 – adds to Lockheed’s continuing surveillance support efforts in Afghanistan. Since 2009, the company has functioned and supported a fleet of US Army-owned King Airs equipped with the medium-altitude reconnaissance surveillance system (MARSS).
Lockheed stated established by army task force ODIN – an acronym for observe, detect, identify and neutralise – MARSS aircraft include a mix of King Air 200s, 300s and 300ERs. Those aircraft are at present based at 3 locations in Afghanistan. They use full-motion video and communications and signals intelligence sensors to monitor insurgents and counter threats posed by improvised explosive devices, Robert Brusco, Lockheed’s technical services business development director, tells Flightglobal.
Brusco stated Lockheed, which is currently operating under a $76 million MARSS contract awarded in 2009, has a group of 65 employees who fly and maintain the aircraft, and provide logistics and supply chain support. The aircraft fly approximately 12h daily, seven days a week.
EMARSS, which will be incorporated into new King Air 350ERs, will use electro-optical/infrared sensors, a communications intelligence payload and an aerial precision geolocation system.
The army is purchasing four EMARSS aircraft in fiscal year 2014 for $84.7 million, and intends to acquire 16 in FY2015 for $185 million.
Brusco stated Lockheed will bid on the second round of procurement, and he expects a request for proposals to be released in about a year.
He said, "We are going to leverage our knowledge and familiarity with the current system to compete for the next round of these enhanced sensor aircraft".
