Lockheed Martin has announced the opening of a new $18m engineering facility, labs and demonstration centre in Huntsville.

The 122,000ft² facility has space for 500 employees who will advance national security capabilities and drive innovation in North Alabama.

“The crucial work being done here by our customers, our company, and our industry partners has made Alabama a key 21st-century, high-tech defence and deterrence provider that’s ramping up to ensure our troops will stay ahead of accelerating threats across every domain – land, sea, air, space, and cyber,” said Stephanie Hill, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems president.

Work performed at this site supports a more than 60-year legacy of Lockheed Martin customer partnerships in Huntsville supporting all domains air, space, land, sea and cyber. With the opening of this facility, Lockheed Martin’s footprint in Alabama expands to 30 work sites in the state employing over 3,300 people.

Teams in this new facility will advance efforts including:

• Readiness and sustainment for the US Army Black Hawk helicopter under the Multi-Year X contract. The team is working toward a Multi-Year XI contract opportunity that will result in a modernised Black Hawk featuring more range, payload and networked connectivity to ensure the Black Hawk of tomorrow stays ahead of the threat.
• Missile Defense Agency Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system. C2BMC is a layered missile defense system providing commanders the ability to make synchronised decisions about threats at any range, in any phase of flight, from any location in the world.
• Modelling and Simulation Contract – Framework and Tools programme, supporting the modeling and simulation framework for the Ballistic Missile Defense System.

This site will further enhance the company’s 1LMX digital transformation that drives efficiencies, connecting and optimising engineering tools to enable Lockheed Martin's workforce to deliver critical capabilities with more agility.

A new Lockheed Martin Rotary Wing Innovation Center, equipped with a modernised Sikorsky Black Hawk mission simulator and next-generation capability simulation tools, will offer the Army an interactive view into the future of the Black Hawk and capabilities for the enduring fleet. The center will be a meeting place for key stakeholders across the military, government, and industry to chart a path forward for Army aviation for decades to come.

Additional Lockheed Martin programmes in Huntsville include the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, Next Generation Interceptor, Javelin Weapon System, and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.

www.lockheedmartin.com