USAF Awards Lockheed Martin $1.4B C-130J Sustainment Contract

A C-130J Super Hercules taxies down the runway at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Marietta, Ga. [Courtesy: Us-Indo Pacific Command]

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $1.42 billion maintenance contract to Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) for its cargo workhorse, the C-130J, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

USAF's Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia issued the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for the C-130J Super Hercules sustainment support effort.

The C-130J is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprops and entered the USAF fleet in February 1999. The service currently has 121 versions of the aircraft.

"This contract provides for contractor logistics support and sustainment of the C-130J aircraft fleet," the DOD said.

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Contract work will be performed at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia.

More Work for Lockheed

Lockheed Martin also announced Monday that it will build the new LMXT strategic tanker aircraft in Marietta, as well as in Mobile, Alabama.

The tanker, which was introduced in September, is the company's offering for USAF's KC-Y Bridge Tanker Program competition.

As prime contractor, Lockheed Martin said the LMXT will be built on the design of the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft in two phases:

Phase 1: The LMXT will be produced as an A330 airliner at Airbus' Mobile, Alabama, facility, which is where Airbus A320 and A220 commercial airliners are built.
Phase 2: In the second phase, the commercial aircraft will be converted into the LMXT tanker at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' Marietta, Georgia, facility, which is currently home to the C-130J Super Hercules final production and F-35 Lightning II center wing assembly lines.

"Establishing this production work in Alabama and Georgia confirms Lockheed Martin's commitment that the LMXT will be built in America, by Americans, for Americans," Lockheed Martin chairman, president, and CEO James Taiclet said in a statement. "The LMXT will strengthen global security by enabling our U.S. service members to carry out their most critical missions at extended ranges."