Lockheed Martin and IERUS Technologies have announced that they have signed a three-year agreement under the Department of Defense (DoD) Mentor-Protege Program. The Mentor-Protege Program encourages prime contractors to serve as mentors in developing the technical and business capabilities of small businesses.

Through this program, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company will assist IERUS Technologies in further developing its government contract accounting system, quality and procurement processes and export control processes.

IERUS Technologies has supported Lockheed Martin since 2010 as a subcontractor and is a part of the Lockheed Martin-led industry team bidding for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Medium-range Ballistic Missile Targets contract.

Lockheed Martin has an unmatched 98-percent success rate in 43 out of 44 target missions since 1996, including legacy and next-generation ballistic missile targets for missile defense testing.

"Lockheed Martin selected IERUS Technologies as a protege company because of its outstanding innovation and performance, as well as its radio frequency and radar technology capabilities," said Dr. Patricia Dare, director of Targets and Countermeasures, Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

"We look forward to helping this small business expand, while strengthening our supplier base."

Said Jason Keen, president, IERUS Technologies, "This relationship with Lockheed Martin promises to assist our business in key areas, such as quality, export control and contracts, that will position us for growth within missile defense and other markets, providing enablers for success on opportunities such as the Upgraded Early Warning Radar-Cobra Dane Testing and other contracts."

IERUS Technologies, with headquarters in Huntsville and offices in Atlanta, employs approximately 20 people. IERUS provides systems engineering and program management support in the defense and commercial sectors, specializing in global optimization, radio frequency spectrum technologies and software acceleration. The U.S. Small Business Administration has certified IERUS as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) business.