Lockheed Martin has selected its Horizon City, Texas, facility for the production of the Compact Kinetic Energy Missile (CKEM). Horizon City is on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas.

Plans include establishment of a pilot production line at the facility. During the CKEM System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program, work in Horizon City will include engineering integration, test and limited production. Production is forecast to begin in 2008 and involve as many as 30 to 40 jobs at the facility.

CKEM will provide current and future forces overwhelming lethality overmatch, high probability of first-round kill and near fire-and-forget capability. It is a spiral development of the current Line-of-Sight Antitank (LOSAT) kinetic energy technology.

The CKEM missile is 60 inches long and weighs less than 100 pounds, has an extended range for direct fire and line-of-sight engagements, and will defeat any current or projected enemy armor or active protection system. CKEM will provide an extended range kill capability that does not exist in currently fielded ground-to-ground anti-armor weapon systems.

"Lockheed Martin chose its Horizon City facility for the production of CKEM due to its outstanding performance on the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) program," said Ron Abbott, vice president -- Tactical Missiles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Our Horizon City employees have been ahead of schedule and under budget on the production of ATACMS since the inception of the program in 1990; a tremendous testament to their ability to perform for our customers."

Texas Congressman Silvestre Reyes said, "We are very excited about this new opportunity for the Lockheed Martin Horizon City plant. We have been working with Lockheed Martin for several years to secure new programs for this facility. These are just the kinds of jobs that we have been aggressively seeking for our community -- jobs that pay good wages and provide great benefits as well as expand opportunities for our workforce."

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said, "Texas is rightly recognized as a leader in the defense industry. Lockheed Martin's expansion in Horizon City is a prime example of more and more companies recognizing the economic advantages of doing business in the El Paso area."

Texas Senator John Cornyn said, "Texas is an excellent choice for CKEM production, and the work done at the Horizon City facility will make America safer. The selection of Horizon City for the facility's location will also greatly boost the economy in the greater El Paso area. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I'm committed to ensuring that America's military remains the most well-equipped and well-trained fighting force in the world. Texas defends America, and the El Paso area continues to play a key role in that effort."

Lockheed Martin demonstrated its CKEM in a test at White Sands Missile Range, NM, in October 2003. The test demonstrated multiple missile component capabilities in an operational environment, and all test objectives were achieved. The company was selected to continue the CKEM Advanced Technology Demonstration as prime contractor with an Option 1 award in April 2004.

CKEM will defeat enemy-armored vehicles, light-armored vehicles, helicopters, bunkers, field fortifications and crew-served weapons. The system is being designed to transition from an initial deployment on a HMMWV to Future Combat System (FCS) vehicles and beyond. Lockheed Martin has committed internal research and development dollars to evaluate other possible platforms for CKEM beyond the FCS vehicle family.

The Horizon City Operations consists of 13 buildings totaling more than 70,000 square feet on approximately 345 acres. The 30 employees at the plant perform final assembly of the ATACMS family of missiles, which are fired from Lockheed Martin's Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

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.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin