Lockheed wins $156M Air Force training contract

Lockheed Martin Corp. has won a $156 million contract to provide the Air Force with new training devices for aircrews and aircraft maintenance personnel, the company announced today.

The defense contractor will develop 24 new training devices and provide program management and engineering services under the Air Force's C-130J Maintenance and Aircrew Training System II, known as JMATS II, according to the May 1 announcement.

The devices include weapons systems, enhanced integrated cockpit systems, loadmaster fuselage and loadmaster part-task trainers along with enhanced cargo handling system training aids. The U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command and Special Operations Command will use the devices for C-130J initial qualification and refresher training.

"The technology that is available now offers incredible flexibility, realism and networking capabilities for distributed mission operations," said Jim Weitzel, vice president of training solutions for Lockheed Martin's global training and logistics unit. "The new integrated cockpit systems trainers, for example, allow both aircrews and maintainers to train on the same device for the first time."

The trainers will be delivered by 2016 to Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.; Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.; Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.; Moody Air Force Base, Ga.; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

The work will be managed at Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Ga., and Orlando, Fla., locations.

Lockheed Martin has managed the C-130J Maintenance and Aircrew Training System since 2000. In August 2011, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the first phase of the JMATS II program to provide weapons systems training devices.

Lockheed Martin Corp., of Bethesda, Md., ranks No. 1 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.