Lockheed Martin receives $585 million contract to develop Homeland Defense Radar
Burlington County Times
December 20, 2018
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has landed a $585 million contract to design, develop and build a new state-of-the-art radar system that will be used to defend the U.S. homeland from ballistic missile attacks and other threats.
The Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii, also known as HDR-H system, will be designed and developed at the company’s Borton Landing Road complex and then deployed to a yet-to-be-determined location in Oahu, Hawaii, where the radar will be used to identify and track long-range ballistic missile threats and integrate with the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System.
The contract was awarded by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and is expected to run through 2023.
It is the latest contract awarded to Lockheed by the Missile Defense Agency and will add to the work at the Moorestown location, which is best known for the development of the company’s Aegis model radar, considered the premier defense system for protecting Navy vessels and other targets from incoming missiles.
In 2015, Lockheed was also awarded a $784 million contract to develop a Long Range Discrimination Radar to be deployed in Alaska for ballistic missile defense. Lockheed officials said the company expects the new HDR system will build off that success.
“Lockheed Martin will leverage the development of our Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) to provide the lowest risk and best value HDR-H solution to (Missile Defense Agency), which includes open, scalable architecture for future growth,” said Chandra Marshall, program director for Lockheed Martin’s Missile Defense Radars market segment.
LRDR is currently under construction in Clear, Alaska, and is scheduled for an on-time delivery in 2020. According to the company, the system’s open design is adaptable and allows for future growth to keep pace with emerging threats.
“LRDR completed a key milestone in August, successfully searching for, acquiring and tracking numerous satellites, known as a closed loop track, confirming our design is complete, mature and ready for full rate production in 2019,” Marshall said.
The company is still evaluating operation needs for the contract so it is unable to specify how many additional jobs it’s likely to bring to the Moorestown location.
The township plant is already home to about 3,450 employees, making it one of Burlington County’s largest private sector employers.
U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st of Camden, said the contract was welcome news for the region as it will add to the work performed at the site and help ensure high-paying jobs remain there for the foreseeable future.
“Today’s news means more high-tech jobs are coming to South Jersey to support our national defense,” said Norcross, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee overseeing defense spending and policy. “In an ever-changing and volatile world, we must ensure our military has the tools and manpower needed to defend our nation. This award for Lockheed Martin in Moorestown means South Jersey’s workers will be building the best equipment possible to counter threats for our military.”