Lockheed, Raytheon submit BMD proposal

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Two U.S. defense giants have given the Missile Defense Agency their final revised proposal for work on the GMD element of the Ballistic Missile Defense system.

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon submitted their original proposal in January and an updated proposal in September. The revised proposal was submitted last week.

The prize is work on the development, manufacturing, test, training, logistics, operations and sustainment of the GMD portion of the BMD system to protect the United States from missile attack.

"The entire Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team has worked together as partners in a transparent environment throughout the GMD Development and Sustainment Contract pursuit," said Mathew J. Joyce, GMD vice president and program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.

"As a result, our team delivered a thorough and comprehensive proposal that represents all of our capabilities.

"The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team is committed to this mission and we are continuing to work together to prepare for a robust start-up that will deliver an effective, affordable GMD program."

In a news release about the proposal, the companies touted their expertise in interceptor weapon systems: systems by them have achieved more than 50 intercepts in testing and combat and include Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense with the Standard Missile-3 interceptor and Patriot with the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor.

The companies' proposal was submitted to the Missile Defense Agency's GMD Joint Program Office in Huntsville, Ala.