Lockheed Martin to enhance N.J. port security

Lockheed Martin Corp. has won its first contract in the growing market to overhaul security at the nation's seaports, a $1.9 million deal with the South Jersey Port Corp.

Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin will enhance security at the Port of Camden, N.J., one of the busiest in the world. The company will design a new command center, train security personnel on new solutions and install perimeter security measures, including cameras and fencing.

"Lockheed Martin has extensive experience providing safety and homeland security solutions to maritime regions," said Dale Bennett, Lockheed Martin vice president for Coast Guard Systems.

The company is a co-prime contractor on the Coast Guard's Deepwater program, which is a $17 billion, multi-year program to overhaul the Coast Guard's ships, aircraft, command and control, and logistics systems. Lockheed Martin is also deploying its Ports and Waterways Safety System at 17 major ports, Bennett said.

But the contract with the South Jersey Port Corp. is the company's first port security contract since passage of the 2002 Maritime Transportation Security Act. The law requires ports to overhaul their security in light of a Homeland Security Department study that found ports particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Ports nationwide have been installing new technology to help improve surveillance without the cost of adding extra guards. New York City-based L-3 Communications Corp. deployed smart video surveillance software for the Virginia Port Authority (Click for Washington Technology story). The software interprets video feeds from perimeter cameras and alerts guards to security breaches.

With prime government IT revenue of $5.5 billion, Lockheed Martin ranked No. 1 on Washington Technology's 2004 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.