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Lockheed awarded $9.1M for AEGIS work in Romania, Poland

By Allen Cone
The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System Romania was officially certified on May 12, 2016. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Sean Spratt/{link:U.S. Navy/Flickr
1 of 2 | The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System Romania was officially certified on May 12, 2016. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Sean Spratt/{link:U.S. Navy/Flickr

April 29 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $9.1 million contract for support and ship integration and engineering of the AEGIS Ashore system in Poland and Romania.

Work on the system includes technical data package and test package/procedure development; technical documentation; feasibility studies; configuration management support; lifecycle and system engineering; environmental qualification testing; topside analysis; Ballistic Missile Defense engineering; and combat system alignment.

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The project includes alignment and integration of advanced naval weapon systems with Arleigh Burke-class ships -- all of which run the AEGIS Weapons System -- and will be completed by September, the Defense Department announced Friday.

Twenty-nine percent of the work will performed in Camden, N.J.; 15 percent in Deveselu, Romania; 15 percent in Redzikowo, Poland; 13 percent in Moorestown, N.J.; 9 percent in Norfolk, Va.; 9 percent in San Diego and 5 percent in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The remaining 5 percent will be done at other unidentified locations.

Naval fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $3.2 million will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The AEGIS Ashore is part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, which is designed to defend the U.S. military and its allies in Europe against possible ballistic missile attacks.

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The EPAA includes one AEGIS Ashore system each in Romania and Poland.

The system in Romania has been operational since 2016. Because of construction issues at the Redzikowo military base not related to the system, the Polish system won't be operational until 2020, DefenseNews reported earlier this month.

The scheduled update to the Aegis Ashore system in Romania is part of regular updates performed on all AEGIS systems -- the majority of which are ship-based, according to an European Command statement in April.

While the AEGIS system undergoes maintenance and upgrades, the U.S. Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense will be headed to Romania this summer from Fort Hood, Texas

"Aegis Ashore Romania is an important part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, which is designed to protect European NATO allies and U.S. deployed forces in the region against the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles outside the Euro-Atlantic area," European Command said in a statement. "This site provides a defensive capability to deter future conflicts, and to defend ourselves, and our NATO allies, should deterrence fail."

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