Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions and U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) today to partner on the research and development of Joint Command-Future capabilities. Joint Command-Future is a capability USJFCOM is researching to create a networked, distributed experimentation environment to help build the future joint force.

Under the CRADA, USJFCOM and Lockheed Martin will conduct cooperative research and development with the goal of identifying and improving command, control, communications, computers and information tools needed to achieve the network-centric capabilities envisioned for future joint commands in a global information grid environment.

"We're going to look at how we can better support the future joint force commander," said Air Force Lt. Col. Dewey Parker, who is USJFCOM's principal investigator assigned to the CRADA. "Should the joint task force (JTF) of the future be organized like the JTF of today? How can we help the commander better exercise joint command and control of the forces? These are the things we will be investigating," said Parker.

Launching the Joint Command-Future Capabilities CRADA is beneficial to both sides, according to Parker. As CRADA work begins, USJFCOM will have access to Lockheed Martin's network infrastructure and the company's Center for Innovation, a state-of-the art laboratory, located in Suffolk and designed for analysis and synthesis of network-centric warfare capabilities.

Lockheed Martin will be provided access to USJFCOM's warfighting subject matter experts and results from the collaborative work.

"We look forward to this cooperative relationship," Mike Upson, Lockheed Martin's principal investigator, said. "We'll first establish the joint distributed environment so that Lockheed Martin engineers can collaborate with warfighters in solving the tough joint challenges."

The Joint Command-Future Capabilities CRADA is a three-year agreement, "enabling each side to accomplish tasks that they could not have completed without each other's help," Parker said. Under federal law, CRADAs can be established with industrial organizations, industrial development organizations, non-profit organizations, universities, state and local governments, licensees of inventions owned by federal agencies, and other federal agencies.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2004 sales of $35.5 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin