DALLAS, Texas (BNS): Lockheed Martin has received an $80 million contract from the US Army Aviation & Missile Command for additional Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) Unitary missiles, a move that will bolster the nation’s long-range tactical missile reserve.

Deliveries for this order will begin in August 2010 and conclude in March 2011. Work will be conducted at the company’s facilities in Dallas and Horizon City, TX.

"ATACMS is a combat-proven, lethal asset in the War on Terror," said Lt. Col Drew Clanton, the ATACMS product manager at the U.S. Army’s Precision Fires, Rockets and Missiles Program Management Office in Huntsville, AL. "Its accuracy and lethality continues to be demonstrated in theater against high-value targets."

"ATACMS’ accuracy and range enables our War fighters to engage targets over large distances," said Scott Arnold, vice president for Precision Fires and Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "It’s clear that our customers depend on ATACMS to carry out their most challenging missions."

During Operation Desert Storm, ATACMS became the first tactical surface-to-surface missile ever fired in combat by the U.S. Army. ATACMS is a combat-proven evolutionary family of missiles that also scored numerous successes again in Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which more than 450 missiles were fired. The Army’s latest order for ATACMS missiles was in first quarter 2008, when Lockheed Martin received a $194 million production contract.

ATACMS is the world’s premier long-range missile artillery round designed specifically for destroying high-priority targets at ranges up to 300 kilometers. Successfully employed in both urban and non-urban environments, it is able to deliver a wide variety of warhead options. Moreover, it can operate in all climate and light conditions while remaining beyond the range of most conventional weapons.

Each ATACMS missile is packaged in a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launch pod and is fired from the MLRS Family of Launchers. The MLRS M270 and M270A1 launchers can carry two ATACMS missiles, or 12 MLRS rockets, in a full load. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) carries a single ATACMS missile, or six MLRS rockets, and is C-130 transportable.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2007 sales of $41.9 billion."