Lockheed Martin was awarded a $7.8 million research and development contract from the U.S. Army to develop software to aid the survivability of manned and unmanned rotorcraft in combat situations.

The contract, issued by the U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) at Fort Eustis, VA, will support development of the Survivability Planner Associate Rerouter (SPAR) system, designed to predict the lethality of battlefield threats and provide manned and unmanned aircraft with real-time response plans that use terrain, aircraft signatures and countermeasures to mitigate the danger.

The Army envisions SPAR supporting teams of manned and unmanned aircraft flying cooperatively. The SPAR software will receive data from existing aircraft sensors and from off-board communication nodes, evaluate the information in relation to the battlefield terrain and the aircraft signatures, and recommend the most appropriate action to improve survivability. Responses might include engaging the threat with weapons, taking evasive action, or deploying countermeasures, such as jamming technology.

"The SPAR win further enhances our decision aiding system and situational awareness technologies, allowing us to improve the survivability of our customer's aircraft," said Scott Greene, acting vice president of Aerospace Solutions at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY.

The SPAR technologies are planned for insertion by 2007 into the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) and existing Army attack helicopters, notably the Apache Longbow. The UCAR program, being conducted with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is designed to demonstrate the technical feasibility, military utility, and operational value of a system of unmanned rotorcraft capable of autonomous collaboration with manned and unmanned air and ground systems.

Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY, will lead the 42-month SPAR development effort, which will end with evaluations in unmanned UCAR and manned attack helicopter simulators at Lockheed Martin's Owego facility and Army laboratories. The project involves Lockheed Martin experts including Advanced Technology Labs and Aeronautics Advanced Development Programs. Intended subcontractors include Dynetics Inc., Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, and ISX Corp.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 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