Longbow International, a Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman joint venture, delivered the first two of 23 Longbow Fire Control Radar units to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) in support of the Japanese Defense Force.

"This delivery is important because it is the first in support of a licensed production program in which Longbow International transfers technology to MELCO," said Tom Eldredge, Longbow International program manager. "This technology transfer will enable MELCO to perform final assembly and test of fire control radar line replaceable units."

MELCO representatives visually inspected the assembled hardware, and the Longbow International program quality manager signed the certificate of conformance, establishing that units meet procedures and requirements for final acceptance and sell-off of the units.

"Customer inspection of the deliverable hardware was highly successful," said Bill Liable, Longbow International quality manager. "This was the first time MELCO representatives were exposed to the hardware. They were very satisfied with the inspection and data review, noting that the Longbow fire control radar team had demonstrated commitment and dedication to deliver nothing but the best quality products."

With U.S. government approval, Longbow International is transferring technology in exchange for license fees and royalties. The government of Japan selected the Apache in August 2001, and decided to enter a licensed production program contract rather than a direct purchase. MELCO was selected as the fire control radar customer-teammate. The agreement specifies that approximately 60 aircraft and 23 radars will be procured in annual contracts for two or three fire control radars per year for 10 years.

The Longbow system comprises a fire control radar, a radio frequency (RF) interferometer, a fire-and-forget RF Longbow Hellfire missile and an M299 launcher. The Longbow system's integrated capabilities enhance the Apache's lethality fourfold and its survivability sevenfold. Longbow's radar enables the pilot to rapidly and automatically search, detect, locate, classify and prioritize multiple moving and stationary targets.

"This contract for delivery of fire control radars and RF interferometers to the government of Japan through MELCO continues a tradition of providing the world's finest attack helicopter equipped with the latest technology sensor systems to our allies," said Richard Russell, Longbow International president.

The licensed production work scope includes all of the hardware in line- replaceable unit kits consisting of line-replaceable modules, shop-replaceable units, cables and chassis for final assembly and test of the mast-mounted assembly, programmable signal processor and low-power radio frequency units by MELCO. It also includes the test equipment required for final assembly and test, training for production and documentation.

Current contract work is performed in Orlando and Ocala, FL; Baltimore, MD and Owego, NY.

Baltimore-based Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense and commercial electronic systems and sensors, including airborne radar, navigation systems, electronic countermeasures, precision weapons, airspace management systems, communication systems, space sensors, marine and naval systems, government systems and logistics services.

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.

For additional information, visit our website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin