Lockheed Martin has signed a three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center (ESC).

The CRADA will enable identification of future critical warfighting capabilities needed in a network-centric environment based on collaboration using engineering and integration projects.

"We are pleased to sign this agreement with ESC," said Stan Sloane, Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President for the Integrated Systems & Solutions business area. "We look forward to working with ESC to identify, create and integrate future critical warfighting capabilities in a network- centric research and development environment."

Under the CRADA, Lockheed Martin and ESC will work to assemble a set of cross-domain decision-making tools with enhanced situational awareness capabilities and embedded simulation. The CRADA will also lend insight into the risks associated with current and emerging concepts, technologies and applications through established quantitative and qualitative means. The CRADA will be used command-wide and support other Air Force partners, such as AFC2ISRC and AFCA.

As part of the CRADA, ESC will provide domain expertise, access to the ESC Network Centric Enterprise Services Lab (NCES Lab), C2 Enterprise Integration Facility (CEIF) and participation in collaborations and coordinated events such as experiments and war games. ESC will also provide sponsorship for networks essential in the collaboration efforts.

Lockheed Martin will provide technical experience in research and development for network-centric information capabilities. Lockheed Martin's Center for Innovation in Suffolk, Va. and its Global Vision Network (GVNet) infrastructure will allow for evaluation and identification of potential functionalities in a net-centric environment incorporating Global Information Grid technology. Lockheed Martin will also provide the infrastructure for experimentation with real-time and non-real-time operational planning capability with improved battlespace awareness.

ESC, the Air Force's leader in Command and Control (C2) systems, is headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. ESC manages the development and acquisition of electronic C2 systems and manages more than 150 programs, ranging from secure communications systems to mission planning systems.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin