Lockheed Wins $99M Contract To Support Production Of JASSM

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) has received a contract to provide foreign military sales production support for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). Work related to the deal will be executed in Orlando, FL.

Valued at $99 million, the contract was awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Per the terms of the agreement, Lockheed Martin will provide lifecycle support for all efforts related to JASSM and any JASSM variants in the areas of system upgrades, integration, production, sustainment, management and logistical support.

The contract is scheduled to be completed by August 2024 and will serve the nations of Finland, Poland and Australia.

A Brief Note on JASSM

The JASSM is a long range, conventional, stealthy, air-launched ground attack cruise missile designed for the Air Force and international partners with a range of 223-621.4 miles. JASSM was designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and re-locatable targets. The threshold integration aircraft were the F-16, B-52, and F/A-18 E/F.

The airframe design was to be compatible with all intended JASSM launch platforms — the B-52H, F-16C/D, F/A-18E/F, F-15E, F-117, B-1B, B-2, P-3C and S-3B.

What’s Favoring Lockheed Martin?

Increasing geopolitical and socioeconomic turmoil worldwide has prompted nations, both developed and developing, to expand the respective military arsenal with missiles constituting a significant portion of that inventory.

As one of the major missile makers in the United States, Lockheed Martin stands out among its peers by virtue of its broadly-diversified programs and strong order bookings. In second-quarter 2019, revenues at its Missiles and Fire Control unit came in at $2.41 billion, increasing 16% year over year, driven by higher sales for the tactical and strike missiles programs plus the sensors and global sustainment programs. At the end of the second quarter, this segment has a solid backlog of $26.2 billion.

Looking Ahead

The global rocket and missile market, which also includes fleet ballistic missiles, is projected to witness a CAGR of 4.74% during the 2017-2022 period to reach a value of $70 billion by 2022 (as per Markets and Markets research firm).

Such projections reflect increased growth opportunities for major missile-players like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) , Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and Boeing (NYSE:BA) in the aforementioned market.

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