DALLAS, April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin
(NYSE: LMT) successfully conducted the fifth and final Production
Qualification Test (PQT) for the new Guided Multiple Launch Rocket
System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead recently at White Sands Missile
Range, N.M.
During the long-range test, four rockets were fired from a
HIMARS launcher and destroyed their respective targets
approximately 65 kilometers away. The test is the final milestone
before the Developmental Test/Operational Test (DT/OT) phase, which
will incorporate soldiers into the system testing. The DT/OT phase
will begin this summer and will conclude with the Initial
Operational Test & Evaluation exercise in the fall of
2014.
"This next phase of testing will be critical in determining
operational effectiveness," said Ken Musculus, vice president of
Tactical Missiles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
"We are committed to the customer and their success on the
battlefield, and these tests ensure production of a trustworthy and
effective solution."
In April 2012, Lockheed Martin
received a $79.4 million contract
from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to develop the
Alternative Warhead Program (AWP). Under the terms of the contract,
the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase of the program
runs 36 months, focusing on system performance, warhead
qualification and producibility.
The Alternative Warhead is designed to engage the same target
set and achieve the same area-effects requirement as the GMLRS
submunitions warhead, but without the lingering danger of
unexploded ordnance. The Alternative Warhead is being developed by
ATK under subcontract to Lockheed Martin.
The AWP is part of a U.S. Department of Defense plan to create a
GMLRS variant that meets the DoD's cluster munition policy. The
Lockheed Martin GMLRS Alternative Warhead program will also be
compliant with the provisions of the Convention on Cluster
Munitions international treaty.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md.,
Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that
employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally
engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture,
integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems,
products and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2013 were
$45.4 billion.
For additional information, visit our website:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com
SOURCE Lockheed Martin