Lockheed Martin wins Trident support deal

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 15 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin said Tuesday it has won an engineering support contract for Britain's Trident missile.

The Trident is a submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile that is Britain's prime nuclear deterrent system.

Lockheed Martin said in a statement that the one-year, $15.5 million contract was approved by the U.S. Navy. The contract covers program management and engineering services for the Royal Navy's Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile program, the company said.

Lockheed Martin manufactures the Trident II D5 missiles, which are fired from British-built Vanguard-class Trident ballistic missile submarines.

"In concert with our U.S. Navy customer, we look forward to providing another year of superior support to the Royal Navy," said Bob Meier, British Programs manager, Strategic and Missile Defense Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.

Lockheed Martin said it would give program management and planning support to the Royal Navy, and also send technical support for integration and missile re-entry procedures, as well as for the missiles themselves and their support systems.

The procedures will be carried out by Lockheed Martin at its plants in Britain and the United States. Work on the contract started on April 1, 2008, and it is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2009, the company said.

Lockheed Martin said its Space Systems Co. based in Sunnyvale, Calif., remained the prime strategic FBM contractor and missile system program manager for the U.S. Navy's Strategic Systems Programs.

Lockheed Martin has also given program support to the Royal Navy's strategic submarine-based missile systems since 1968 under the terms of the 1963 U.S.-British Polaris Sales Agreement. That agreement was revised and updated in 1982 to cover continuing cooperation on the Trident II D5 ballistic missile system.