Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. has been awarded a $31.9 million contract by the U.S. government to develop a specialized weapon-delivery system capable of striking mobile enemy targets. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) conferred the contract to Lockheed’s Missiles & Fire Control branch in Grand Prairie, Texas, this month where the bulk of the project is expected to take place. Rough estimates put an expected completion time somewhere in early 2021.
Code-named the Operational Fires Integrated Weapon System (OpFires), the project itself revolves around the development of a relocatable hypersonic delivery system, capable of firing a various payload of missiles that can penetrate enemy air defense systems and strike units moving on the ground with precision. In addition to carrying a number of deployable missile payloads, the OpFires project is also expected to be able to consistently and accurately strike targets at a multitude of different depth ranges. Design plans call for the project to be completed in three phases: design, critical design, and flight testing. The propulsion system that will be used in-flight testing was developed by Sierra Nevada Corp in 2018, at the request of DARPA.
As OTEK has proudly served the U.S. armed services for over forty-five years, as well as performed contractual work for Lockheed Martin, we are well-versed in designs such as the OpFires project for military applications. One of our most visible products used by the U.S. military is our APM model. Chiefly used by the air force and navy, the APM is used to measure power busses in an aircraft or marine vessel, most commonly the circuitry powering the craft. In addition to night vision/NVG3 capabilities, the APM also boasts a standard 1” diameter barrel, 0.25” full-LED digits, 4-20mA loop power and can be powered externally by VDC, internal/external intensity control, and requires only two wires to operate. The APM successfully meets Mil-Specs: 461D, 462D, 704F, 130K, 810F, 889B2 & 1742F, among others.
For more information on the APM or OTEK’s line of Mil-Spec ready products, please call our office at 520-748-7900 or email our sales office: sales@otekcorp.com