The Denver Post April 24, 2002
Lockheed gets contract on spy sensors
By Jennifer Beauprez
Denver Post Business Writer
Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - Lockheed Martin's space systems division has won a preliminary contract that might lead to $1 billion worth of work to build special sensors for Army spy planes. But Lockheed has some serious competition.
Lockheed and Northrop Grumman both won initial $35 million contracts to design the systems. They will compete for another $400 million contract to test the sensors next year, and the final winner will be awarded a 30-year $1 billion contract to mass produce them.
"It will be one of the most significant contract values for us in a recent period," said Joan Underwood, spokeswoman for Lockheed. "If we're the winner, that is $1 billion worth of work that gets done here in Jefferson County."
Lockheed will design sensor systems to go on the Army's fleet of business-class jets, the type that would normally carry corporate executives. The planes would fly over enemy camps to help military troops survey the situation and act appropriately, said Wes Colburn, Lockheed's acting vice president of ground systems.
Using high-resolution cameras, radar systems and infrared and hyper-spectral sensors, the planes could map terrain, detect heat from tanks, pick up communication signals and even detect harmful chemicals, Colburn said.
The so-called aerial common sensor system would replace two Army systems that have been used since the 1970s and were designed for the Cold War, Colburn said. He said the Army is transforming itself to be lighter, faster and more mobile.
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed has its space systems headquarters in Jefferson County and employs 5,600 people in Colorado. About 100 jobs will be created over the next year as part of the first phase of the contract. Underwood said it is too soon to say how many jobs may be added if Lockheed ultimately wins the final contract.
"It's a pretty good-sized deal," said John Pike, a defense analyst with Globalsecurity.org in Alexandria, Va. "The Army has a bunch of these planes - dozens and dozens."
Northrop Grumman is well-known for building such sensors, Pike said. And Northrop could easily boost its brainpower if it succeeds in its $11.4 billion takeover of TRW Corp., which has a space systems division, Pike said.
"Anytime you're talking about a sensor program, it's something that Northrop Grumman does full time and Lockheed does part time," Pike said. "But Lockheed has a presence in every sector the intelligence community is involved in."
Lockheed last fall won a $200 billion contract to build the military's Joint Strike Fighters, but the work is scattered around the country, primarily in Texas. Just 300 people in Denver work on the job, Underwood said.
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