Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $73.8 million contract for work on Phase 2 of the U.S. Army's Long Range Precision Fires battlefield missile program.
Phase 2 of the program includes technology development to produce a prototype missile and its two-missile Launch Pod Missile Containers for transport and mounting on compatible missile launchers.
"We intend to demonstrate to our Army customer that our LRPF solution will be the most cost-effective, precise and reliable munition to meet their future long-range," vice president of Precision Fires for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Scott Greene said in a news release.
Lockheed will test multiple missile prototypes and variants over the 36-month course of Phase 2 development. Raytheon is also developing prototypes for the program.
The LRPF missile will be a precision-guided surface-to-surface tactical missile that can be launched from the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System and the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
It will have a range of more than 300 miles and be able to carry penetrating high-explosive fragmentation warheads. It will replace the current Army Tactical Missile System also fired from the MLRS and HIMARS. It is designed to pinpoint strikes on high-value enemy battlefield targets such as headquarters and infrastructure targets.
Russia, China urge freeze on N.Korea missile tests and US exercises
Russia and China on Tuesday called for a simultaneous freeze on North Korean nuclear and missile tests and military exercises by the United States as tensions ratcheted up on the peninsula.
"The two sides propose that the DPRK (North Korea) as a voluntary political decision declares a moratorium on testing nuclear explosive devices and ballistic rocket launches, and the US and South Korea r … read more
