Lockheed Martin Wins Helicopter Contract

Lockheed Martin Corp. beat out Raytheon Co. for a contract to produce the next generation of targeting electronics for the Army’s top attack helicopter, according to Army officials. Lockheed Martin and teammate Boeing Co. will develop and integrate a new system of heat-seeking sensors and targeting gear to replace the 1970s technology now used on the AH-64 Apache antitank helicopter. The new electronics will significantly enhance the Apache’s fighting capability at night and in poor weather, officials said during a briefing at the annual Assn. of the U.S. Army convention. “There was a full and open competition,” said Army Apache program manager Col. Howard Bramlett. “Team Apache, a limited liability company made up of Lockheed and Boeing, won.” Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Controls unit of Orlando, Fla., beat Raytheon Co.’s Air Combat & Strike Systems unit in McKinney, Texas, for the program, which can be worth as much as $800 million, Bramlett said. The contract hasn’t been formally announced, pending notification of Congress. Lockheed Martin shares closed off 76 cents at $32.32, while Raytheon’s Class A shares closed off 19 cents at $27.50, both on the NYSE.