Lockheed Martin has received a $90 million contract to support U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps MLRS launchers. Lockheed Martin's Life Cycle Contractor Support (LCCS) system will support more than 300 launchers through 2010.

This contract entrusts Lockheed Martin with the full support responsibilities for the performance-based specification components of the HIMARS and MLRS M270A1 launchers' fire control systems, as well as the HIMARS launcher-loader module. Responsibilities also include supply, maintenance and related logistics support, including field service representatives who work alongside the Warfighter to provide quick turnaround times.

"We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Army and Marine Corp to ensure our products perform for the Warfighter in those defining moments on the battlefield," said Mike Syring, director of After Market Enterprises at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

"Our integrated approach to logistics support literally puts Lockheed Martin alongside the Warfighter in the field. It's a partnership in efficiency where work is done quickly, with the necessary expertise to make sure the job's done right."

LCCS brings contractor support to the system, no matter where the system may be. The global team of field service representatives feed a central operations center with complete records of each unit's launcher operational status, configurations and component upgrades, all of which are instantly available in a networked database.

This database also contains records that describe the configuration and maintenance history of every major component and sub-assembly. Repair facilities and special test equipment are co-located with the operational units to help reduce field turnaround times for repair of major components.

The HIMARS/MLRS M270A1 performance-based program has yielded impressive results over the three years that it has been in place. Through LCCS, the customer has experienced a system status readiness rate that consistently averages above 99 percent, and a HIMARS/MLRS M270A1 mission-capable turnaround time that has averaged less than 12 hours for those systems based within the U.S. Additionally, repair turnaround times in the field have averaged less than two days.

Lockheed Martin has also partnered with the U.S. Army's Letterkenny Army Depot (LEAD) to perform selected repairs of HIMARS and MLRS M270A1 hardware. This depot maintenance partnership between Lockheed Martin and LEAD will result in LEAD performing HIMARS/MLRS M270A1 repairs under the Lockheed Martin LCCS contract beginning in late 2008.

The Department of Defense recognized the outstanding performance of the HIMARS/MLRS M270A1 LCCS program and selected the U.S. Army and Lockheed Martin's HIMARS team for the 2006 Secretary of Defense System Level Performance Based Logistics (PBL) Award, which recognizes exceptional operational capability.

PBL is the hallmark of the U.S. military's call for integrated, affordable performance packages designed to optimize system readiness at lower cost than traditional maintenance programs.

The U.S. Army nominated HIMARS for the system award because its PBL solution maintains performance across the entire weapon system, rather than just components. It is at the system level that the customers recognize the highest potential for realizing savings and performance efficiency.

Because of its C-130 transportability, HIMARS can be deployed into areas previously inaccessible to heavier launchers and provides a force multiplier to the modular brigade. It also incorporates the self-loading, autonomous features that have made Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) the premier rocket artillery system in the world.

HIMARS carries a single six-pack of MLRS rockets, or one ATACMS missile. Its fire control system, electronics and communications units are interchangeable with the existing MLRS M270A1 launcher, and the crew and training are the same. HIMARS prototypes were successfully employed in Operations Iraqi Freedom.