WASHINGTON (AP) - Lockheed Martin won a contract Monday to develop a spy plane for the Army and Navy, the military announced. The plane, called the Aerial Common Sensor, will replace two Army spy planes as well as one operated by the Navy, the Army's Communications-Electronics Command said in a press release. The command is based at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
The airframe will be built by Brazil-based Embraer. The plane will have a radar and a system to intercept communications, the Army said. The contract, worth $879 million, specifies that Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed develop and test the plane. Future contracts will cover the purchase of the operational model of the aircraft. The military expects to spend $7 billion on the Aerial Common Sensor program over its lifetime, an Army spokesman said.
Lockheed beat rival defense firm Northrop Grumman for the contract. |