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Lockheed Martin (LMT) Wins $3.27B Contract for Radar Systems

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Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT - Free Report) recently clinched a contract for the full-rate production of AN/TPQ-53 radar systems. The deal has been awarded by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.   

Details of the Deal

Valued at $3.27 billion, the contract is expected to be complete by Mar 30, 2027. The contract involves the full-rate production of AN/TPQ-53 radar systems and associated spare parts and services along with the subsequent deployment of the same to various Foreign Military Sales countries. The work related to this deal will be determined per each order.

Importance of AN/TPQ-53 Radar Systems

The AN/TPQ-53 radar system or Q-53 detects, classifies, tracks and determines the location of enemy indirect fire in either 360 or 90-degree modes. Q-53 is replacing the aging AN/TPQ-36 and AN/TPQ-37 medium-range radars in the U.S. Army’s inventory. It boasts enhanced performance, including greater mobility, increased reliability and supportability, lower life-cycle costs and a reduced crew size compared with Q-36 and Q-37.

Q-53’s active electronically scanned array (AESA) provides the foundation for multi-mission capabilities and has the ability to identify and track unmanned aerial systems, showing the capacity to incorporate air surveillance simultaneously with counter target acquisitions in a single sensor.

Due to Q-53’s remarkable features, which are well-suited for any military mission, Lockheed Martin continues to witness a steady inflow of orders involving the radar system. The latest contract win is a testament to that. This, in turn, shall bolster LMT’s revenues from the radars arena.

Growth Prospects

Nations have increased their defense spending on military equipment and weaponry to modernize and upgrade defense systems amid the rising geopolitical tensions. In this context, demand for an efficient military radar system is likely to gain momentum as it plays a very important role in military surveillance.

Per Mordor Intelligence projections, the global military radar market is expected to witness a CAGR of more than 4.5% over the 2022-2031 period. Such projections further exemplify immense opportunities for Lockheed Martin to capitalize on the expanding market.

Such abounding growth projections will not only benefit LockheedMartinbut also prominent defense majors, namely Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) , Raytheon Technologies (RTX - Free Report) and BAE Systems (BAESY - Free Report) , which are involved in radar manufacturing and offer associated support.

Northrop Grumman has been at the forefront of AESA radar innovations for more than 60 years. The AESA radars provide unparalleled battlespace situational awareness and air-to-air and air-to-ground superiority. A few of NOC’s renowned radars are the AN/AAQ-24(V) Directional Infrared Countermeasure system, the AN/APG-77 AESA radar and the AN/APG-81 AESA fire control radar.

Northrop Grumman has a long-term earnings growth rate of 6.2%. Its investors have gained 36.6% in the past year.

Raytheon’s product portfolio consists of varied radars like integrated air and missile defense radars, ballistic missile radars, surveillance radars and air dominance radars. Radars like AN-SPY 6, AN-TPY-2, APG-79 and APG-82 are some of its combat-proven products that enjoy solid demand in the global military radar market.

Raytheon’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 10.2%. Shares of RTX have returned 28.1% value to its investors in the past year.

BAE Systems is at the forefront of radar tracking technology, delivering systems that provide precision tracking data to range commanders with superior situational awareness and various target tracking solutions. It has delivered numerous state-of-the-art land-based fixed, transportable, mobile as well as shipborne precision Time Space and Position Information tracking radar systems to domestic and international customers.

BAE Systems boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.3%. BAESY stock has appreciated 31.2% in the past year.

Price Movement

In the past year, shares of LockheedMartin have rallied 17.2% against the industry’s fall of 33.2%.

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Zacks Rank

Lockheed Martin currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.


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