DALLAS, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has won a U.S. Army order to produce more Army Tactical Missile Systems.
Lockheed Martin said in a statement last week it had "received $194 million from the U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command for production of the combat-proven Army Tactical Missile System."
"Work will be conducted at the company's facilities in Dallas and Horizon City, Texas, with completion expected by the second quarter of 2010," Lockheed Martin said.
"The contract includes the ATACMS Quick Reaction Unitary and the Block IA Missiles. ATACMS is the world's premier long-range missile artillery round designed specifically for destroying high-priority targets at ranges up to 300 kilometers -- 180 miles," the company said.
"During the first Operation Desert Storm, ATACMS became the first tactical surface-to-surface missile ever fired in combat by the U.S. Army. ATACMS is an evolutionary family of missiles which scored numerous successes again in Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which 456 missiles were fired," Lockheed Martin said.
"The Army TACMS Unitary missile is a responsive, all weather, long-range missile, with a high explosive, fragmentation, multifunctional warhead fired from the Multiple Launch Rocket System -- MLRS -- family of launchers, including the MLRS 270A1 launcher and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. This system will have a much more efficient logistical footprint, while it will expand the traditional target-set for Army TACMS," the company said.
"ATACMS is fired from the Multiple Launch Rocket System -- MLRS -- family of launchers, including the original M270, the M270 Improved Position Determining System -- IPDS, the M270A1 and the new High Mobility Artillery Rocket System -- HIMARS -- launchers. The M270, M270-IPDS and M270A1 launchers can carry two ATACMS missiles, or 12 MLRS rockets, in a full load. HIMARS carries a single ATACMS missile, or six MLRS rockets, and is C-130 transportable," Lockheed Martin said.
"Each ATACMS missile is approximately 13 feet long, two feet in diameter and has a range of up to 300 kilometers. A single ATACMS missile can defeat company-size targets beyond the range of current Army cannons and rockets. The first launch of an ATACMS missile was April 26, 1988, at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.," Lockheed Martin said.
