Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] announced today that it will respond to the government’s Request for Proposal (RFP) for the next phases for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM). The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command issued the RFP for Engineering and Manufacturing (EMD) and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) on JAGM on April 13.

“Lockheed Martin’s JAGM builds on three of the most trusted precision-guided weapons on the battlefield today: HELLFIRE, LONGBOW and Javelin,” said Frank St. John, vice president of Tactical Missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “We are prepared to provide U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps warfighters with the next product in that line, an affordable weapon that will offer the decisive edge in combat.”

The scope of the JAGM EMD contract will be to “complete all major component and subsystem critical design reviews (CDRs), a system-level CDR, component and subsystem testing, design verification testing, engineering development tests and production prove-out tests on the six threshold JAGM platforms.” In addition to the EMD requirements, the RFP calls for three fixed-price LRIP options, as well as two fixed-priced advanced procurement items for “long-lead” components that drive the hardware delivery schedule.

Lockheed Martin is partnered with some of the industry’s leading suppliers on the JAGM program. Aerojet, a GenCorp [NYSE: GY] company, will provide the JAGM rocket motor for all six threshold JAGM platforms. GenCorp is headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., with production facilities in Camden, Ark. Marvin Engineering, headquartered in Inglewood, Calif., will provide launchers for all six threshold platforms. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), a business unit of General Dynamics [NYSE: GD], will provide the multi-purpose warhead with high HELLFIRE commonality. GD-OTS is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Fla., with production in Niceville, Fla.

“We are confident our proposed JAGM weapon system can provide significant performance advantages that will save lives,” St. John said. “We are also confident that with hot, high-volume production lines already in place for HELLFIRE, Javelin and the M299 launcher family, we can provide that vital performance edge at an affordable price and with best value over program life.”

Work on the JAGM program will be performed in Orlando and Ocala, Fla., and Troy, Ala., as well at suppliers’ facilities across the U.S. and in the U.K. Contract award is expected during second quarter 2011.

Initial operational capability (IOC) of JAGM on the Army’s AH 64D Apache, the USMC’s AH 1Z Cobra attack helicopter and the Navy’s F/A 18E/F Super Hornet jet fighter is scheduled for 2016. IOC for the Navy’s MH 60R Seahawk armed reconnaissance helicopter, the Army’s OH 58 cockpit and sensor upgrade program (CASUP) for the Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopter and the Army’s extended range multi-purpose unmanned aerial system is 2017.

Based on the IOC schedule, platform integration on the first three platforms will occur during the 48-month EMD phase. Platform integration on the next three is scheduled to begin during EMD and continue into the LRIP phase.

Source and photo: Lockheed Martin