SALINA, N.Y. — The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) a $276 million contract from its Advanced Range Threat System Variant 3 (ARTS-V3) program office.
Under the award, Lockheed’s plant in the town of Salina will develop and produce the variable aperture digital radar (VADR) system, the office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) said in announcing the contract award on Wednesday.
Lockheed Martin personnel will work on the VADR system, “leveraging both X-band and C-band radars to train aircrew for engagements against advanced adversarial threats.”
Lockheed Martin is a defense contractor headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland that operates Central New York plants in Salina and Owego.
The VADR system is a software-defined sensor that can be reprogrammed to emulate different adversary systems and training events, Schumer’s office said. Lockheed Martin will build it using distributed digital active electronically scanned array (AESA). AESA is described as a “very similar architecture” that the defense contractor has recently developed for other radars, such as the Sentinel A4, TPY-4, and LRDR.
“Syracuse’s world-class workforce will now produce the latest in cutting-edge radar for the U.S. Air Force, further cementing Syracuse as a global center for advanced manufacturing and technology,” Schumer contended in the announcement. “Lockheed Martin is a world-class defense firm doing outstanding work that keeps good-paying jobs right here in Upstate New York and keeps our military service members around the world safe.”
Schumer’s office added that “following years of advocacy” from the lawmaker, Lockheed Martin’s plant in Salina is having its strongest local growth in more than a decade, “adding hundreds of jobs, investing millions of dollars, and expanding its suburban campus.”
ARTS-V3 is one of many systems that Lockheed Martin’s Salina plant produces for the U.S. military, with the company already manufacturing the Sentinel A4 radar and the Q-53 radar for the U.S. Army.
The Sentinel A4 radar contract is one of the Salina plant’s largest defense contracts ever, Schumer’s office noted.