Lockheed Martin is opening a multi-media Concept and Development Center in Washington, DC, to showcase its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project and team attributes for this transformational U.S. Navy program. The Center will be used to visualize the warship's features, mission capabilities, and later this year, as a hub for LCS demonstrations and evaluations.

"The Concept and Development Center brings our proposed LCS system solution to life," said Carol Hulgus, vice president, programs for Lockheed Martin's Maritime Systems & Sensors business. "While proposals may contain all the necessary information about a program, this multi-media center allows us to further refine the design with our public and private sector partners. Here we can show the customer and others exactly how this ship is being built, how it will operate, and that we're the team to get the job done."

Like the ability of Lockheed Martin's LCS solution to be networked and modular in its design, the center will be transformed into a mission analysis, war-gaming and concept of operations evaluation center. It is also designed to be a network node during engineering tests, demonstrations and technical evaluations.

"The Concept and Development Center reinforces the team's commitment and real benefits of our design approach," said Hulgus. "By visualizing our concepts and demonstrating our ideas we provide our team with another tool to refine our approach and an extra level of confidence for our customer that we are the right choice for the LCS requirement."

LCS will add a new dimension to the U.S. Navy's war fighting ability. In littoral waters, within 100 miles of shore, LCS is designed to assure access and be a persistent force. Interchangeable mission packages will initially be tailored to perform focused missions against enemy patrol craft and small boats, shallow water mines, and diesel submarines. LCS is the Navy's top budget priority and is designed to assure access for U.S. forces in the littorals.

The Lockheed Martin team was awarded a $10 million contract by the U.S. Navy in July for LCS preliminary design. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor, with naval architect Gibbs & Cox and ship builders Bollinger Shipyards and Marinette Marine sharing significant roles as principal team members. The team aims to build a low-cost, low-risk ship that will comfortably exceed the Navy's design thresholds. The team's approach is to combine the best companies, and the key technologies and processes they represent, to meet those requirements.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs approximately 125,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors