Lockheed adding 160 local jobs

Positions to support missile defense work with Germany, Italy

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

By SHELBY G. SPIRES

Times Aerospace Writer shelbys@htimes.com

Lockheed Martin plans to add 160 jobs here over the next 18 months to support its missile defense work, company officials said Tuesday.

The company will add the people to work on the Medium Extended Air Defense System, or MEADS, a joint effort among the United States, Germany and Italy. In September, Lockheed won a $767 million subcontract to develop battle management and control systems for MEADS.

"These are real jobs, too, not just planned hires," said Bob Drolet, director of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Huntsville operations. "They will work directly on" the MEADS program.

Today, Lockheed has about 40 people working on MEADS, but "by the end of 2005 we expect that to grow to 150, and by the middle of 2006 it should be about 200. That's a growth of about 160 jobs over the next few months," Drolet said.

The Lockheed MEADS work performed here "is largely software work," said Linda J. Reiners, Lockheed vice president of missile defense systems.

Reiners said his plan is to make Huntsville a center of excellence for modeling and simulation, with Lockheed's key simulation people based here and other sites tying into the Huntsville site via a computer network.

"We do that to understand how these systems will behave and how they need to behave when they get out in the field," Reiners said. "I plan to grow that capability substantially here in Huntsville."

The MEADS system is scheduled to be available by 2012 and will use Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, missiles for air and missile defense at first. The Patriot missile is managed in Huntsville by the Army, and Boeing produces parts of the missile's advanced seeker here.

Drolet said MEADS will be the next step beyond the Patriot missile defense system, now being fielded by the Army, and will be more complex than the Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system now being designed and tested.

"The MEADS program is being designed to take on the full spectrum of threats - short range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, airplanes and helicopters," Drolet said. "The complexities of the battle management task is at an ultimate level because you have targets ?that you have to engage in all kinds of threat environments."

The program development is split between the United States, which is responsible for about 55 percent of MEADS development, and Germany and Italy, which do the remaining 45 percent of the work.




Lockheed adding 160 local jobs Positions to support missile defense work with Germany, Italy Wednesday, December 01, 2004 By SHELBY G. SPIRES Times Aerospace Writer shelbys@htimes.com Lockheed Martin plans to add 160 jobs here over the next 18 months to support its missile defense work, company officials said Tuesday. The company will add the people to work on the Medium Extended Air Defense System, or MEADS, a joint effort among the United States, Germany and Italy. In September, Lockheed won a $767 million subcontract to develop battle management and control systems for MEADS. "These are real jobs, too, not just planned hires," said Bob Drolet, director of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Huntsville operations. "They will work directly on" the MEADS program. Today, Lockheed has about 40 people working on MEADS, but "by the end of 2005 we expect that to grow to 150, and by the middle of 2006 it should be about 200. That's a growth of about 160 jobs over the next few months," Drolet said. The Lockheed MEADS work performed here "is largely software work," said Linda J. Reiners, Lockheed vice president of missile defense systems. Reiners said his plan is to make Huntsville a center of excellence for modeling and simulation, with Lockheed's key simulation people based here and other sites tying into the Huntsville site via a computer network. "We do that to understand how these systems will behave and how they need to behave when they get out in the field," Reiners said. "I plan to grow that capability substantially here in Huntsville." The MEADS system is scheduled to be available by 2012 and will use Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, missiles for air and missile defense at first. The Patriot missile is managed in Huntsville by the Army, and Boeing produces parts of the missile's advanced seeker here. Drolet said MEADS will be the next step beyond the Patriot missile defense system, now being fielded by the Army, and will be more complex than the Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system now being designed and tested. "The MEADS program is being designed to take on the full spectrum of threats - short range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, airplanes and helicopters," Drolet said. "The complexities of the battle management task is at an ultimate level because you have targets ?that you have to engage in all kinds of threat environments." The program development is split between the United States, which is responsible for about 55 percent of MEADS development, and Germany and Italy, which do the remaining 45 percent of the work. Copyright 2004 al.com. All Rights Reserved.