The Department of Defense awarded a total of five contracts worth in excess of $680 million Tuesday -- but only one contract went to a traditional "defense contractor."
Amidst a series of mundane Pentagon orders for commercial forklifts, safety goggles, and milk and dairy products, the only publicly traded defense company to land a contract of significant size was Lockheed Martin (LMT 1.23%), recipient of a $19.3 option exercise, instructing the firm to perform Aegis Platform Systems Engineering Agent activities and Aegis Modernization Advanced Capability Build engineering for the Navy.
DoD clarified that Lockheed's role under this contract will be to configure Navy combat systems aboard warships already in service and also to integrate and upgrade Aegis air defense capability aboard Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) guided missile cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) class guided missile destroyers. This work should be completed by September.
