May 30 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has received a $43.9 million contract for support service and production for the Trident II D5 submarine launched ballistic missile, or SLBM.
The program includes engineering and maintenance for support systems of the missile system. Work will be performed primarily at Sunnydale, Calif., Cape Canaveral, Fla., and several other locations in the United States.
The program is expected to be completed by September 30, 2017, with fiscal 2017 Navy funds of $43.9 million being allocated to the program.
The Trident II D5 submarine launched ballistic missile is the primary undersea nuclear deterrent for both the U.S. and British navies. It is carried on U.S. Ohio-class and British Vanguard-class submarines.
Each missile can carry Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles, allowing several warheads from a single missile to shower a target area. They serve as an important deterrent weapon in case land- and air-based nuclear forces are destroyed in an enemy first strike.
