Thursday was a slow day for Pentagon contractors. For the most part, small, privately held companies snapped up the majority of the contracts that were available for the taking. The Department of Defense did, however, announce a pair of small (in defense contracting terms) awards to two publicly traded companies:
Lockheed Martin (LMT -0.95%) won $27.9 million as a modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, multi-year Foreign Military Sales contract. This contract funds Lockheed's purchase of "long lead materials" needed to produce avionics systems and common cockpits for nine Sikorsky MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters that United Technologies is building for the Danish Government's Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization. Lockheed's work on this contract should be complete by June 2013.
Meanwhile, Exelis (NYSE: XLS) won a $24.5 million modification to a different previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This one hired Exelis to supply transmitting sets and counter measure AN/PLT-4 systems, and to perform maintenance on Navy Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (CREW) fixed-site systems.
In essence, this is a system for jamming IEDs in Afghanistan to prevent their being exploded by radio signal. Exelis's work on the contract should be complete by March 2014.
