LONGBOW LLC receives $51m radar systems contract for Apache attack helicopter

The Republic of Korea has awarded a $51m contract to the LONGBOW Limited Liability Company, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, for providing LONGBOW Fire Control Radars (FCRs) for the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter.

The contract includes six LONGBOW FCR systems, spares and in-country support. Production is scheduled through 2016, with assembly of the FCR performed at Lockheed Martin’s Ocala and Orlando, Florida, facilities, and Northrop Grumman’s Baltimore, Maryland, facility.

“The LONGBOW FCR is a battle-proven radar system that will provide Republic of Korea Apache pilots with increased situational awareness, survivability and lethality,” said Tom Eldredge, LONGBOW LLC president and director of LONGBOW programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

“The LONGBOW FCR team will provide the Republic of Korea with a product that promotes greater regional security and provides warfighters with the highest level of protection while increasing the international Apache footprint,” said Mike Galletti, director of the Tactical Sensor Solutions-Aviation business unit for Northrop Grumman’s Land and Self Protection Systems Division.

Since 1998, the company has provided Apache aircrews with target detection, location, classification and prioritisation. In all weather, over multiple terrains and through any battlefield obscurant, the radar allows automatic and rapid multitarget engagement.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernisation to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is a 2012 recipient of the US Department of Commerce’s Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for performance excellence.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation’s net sales for 2012 were $47.2bn.