Lockheed Martin Sees ‘Sense Of Urgency’ Supporting Munitions Teaming Talks

LE BOURGET—Lockheed Martin’s efforts to expand munitions production into Europe may still take some time but are benefitting from a “sense of urgency” among governments that should help to bring about the necessary agreements, says Tim Cahill, president of the company’s Missiles and Fire Control unit.

The U.S. defense giant is in talks with Rheinmetall for a teaming arrangement that could see production and assembly of weapons such as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System in Europe.

Cahill said the recent disclosure of talks with Rheinmetall is not coming at the expense of a prior commitment to do weapons work in Poland. “There is enough demand that we can go out there and build partnerships in multiple places.”

Getting the agreements into place is not easy, since it involves multiple governments. But Cahill said the environment is supportive and the agreements could be locked in faster than normal.

As part of the deal with Rheinmetall, Lockheed Martin is exploring whether to transition production of the Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) to Germany, as focus is directed in the U.S. more toward its Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) work.

“There still remains significant demand for Atacms. So yes, this would be a candidate for us to potentially take into Europe, set up a production line,” Cahill said. The product would be Europeanized and could evolve, he added, assuming the U.S. government supports the initiative. “They have not given us approval, but they have not said ‘no,'" he said.

Lockheed Martin is in low-rate production for the initial tranche of the PrSM Increment 1 and ramping up to an output of 400 units per year.

The company also is working with the U.S. Army to accelerate introduction of PrSM Increment 2, which features a seeker to engage ships and other moving targets, Cahill said. Test flights are due next year.

Talks also are taking place with the service to speed up flight testing of the roughly 1,000-km (620-mi.)-range PrSM 4 that remains in competition between Lockheed Martin and RTX teamed with Northrop Grumman.

The Army also has drawn up plans for a larger PrSM Increment 5, though development has not formally started.