Britain Places $212M Order for Arrowheads
Related Stories: Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, Helicopters & Rotary, Lockheed Martin, Sensors & Guidance
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. on Wednesday said it received a $212 million contract from Britain’s Ministry of Defense that authorizes production of Arrowhead sensor kits by its subcontractor Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, FL.
Arrowhead is an advanced electro-optical & fire control system that AH-64 Apache helicopter pilots use for combat targeting of their missiles and other weapons, as well as safe flight in day, night, or bad weather missions. It is the successor to TADS/PNVS. Arrowhead’s forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors use advanced image processing techniques to give pilots the best possible resolution to avoid obstacles such as wires and tree limbs during low-level flight.
While the number of units was not disclosed, a $247 million contract issued on February 17, 2005 by the U.S. Army provided for 97 Arrowhead units.
Britain is known to have ordered 67 Apache Longbow helicopters under the designation WAH-64 from a consortium of GKN Westland (now AgustaWestland), Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Shorts, however.
Lockheed said it will deliver the first Arrowhead kit in April 2007, with flight testing scheduled to start in late spring that year. The integration of Arrowhead on the first four helicopters is set for completion in January 2009, and retrofit of the entire fleet is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2010.
