The Owego location will handle the work on the contracts, which will continue through 2020, the office of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) said in a news release issued Tuesday.
The work will focus on the manufacture and delivery of “automatic radar periscope detection and discrimination (ARPDD) multi-mode radar kits to upgrade the MH-60R fleet aircraft and for the integration of advanced off-board electronic warfare active mission payload in MH-60R/S aircraft’s avionics operating program,” per Schumer’s news release.
“These contracts are big wins for Lockheed Martin and its workers at the Owego facility where these essential helicopters are made,” Schumer said in the release. “I applaud the Navy’s investment in Lockheed Martin, which confirms what we already knew: Lockheed Martin is a first-class defense firm doing incredible work across the state.”
Schumer now serves as the minority leader in the U.S. Senate.
Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company, employs about 2,500 people at its rotary and mission systems facility in Owego, per Schumer’s release.
The Bethesda, Maryland–based defense contractor focuses on the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
The Navy awarded these contracts “just a few weeks” after it awarded the Salina plant of Lockheed Martin a contract for the development and production of the advanced off-board electronic warfare (AOEW) active mission payload (AMP) AN/ALQ-248 system. That’s a self-contained, electronic warfare pod hosted by an MH-60R/S helicopter that will provide the Navy advanced anti-ship missile detection and response capabilities.
Employees in Owego will integrate this system onto the helicopters, per Schumer’s office.
About the helicopter
The U.S. Navy uses the MH-60R SEAHAWK helicopter as a “primary platform” for anti-submarine warfare in open ocean and littoral zones.
The helicopter is the “world’s most advanced” maritime helicopter, the company contends. It can operate from the shore and from a variety of ships.
Also, known as the “Romeo,” the MH-60R combines the capabilities of the Navy’s legacy SH-60B and SH-60F helicopters into a single, “sensor-rich” platform that a three-person crew operates.
The Navy can also use the MH-60R for search and rescue, supply delivery, medical evacuation, and communications relay.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com