LOCKHEED MARTIN ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL TEAM MEMBERS FOR THE UK WATCHKEEPER PROGRAMME          

HAVANT, United Kingdom – 18 July 2002 - Lockheed Martin today unveiled its international partners for the forthcoming UK MOD Watchkeeper Systems Integration and Assurance Phase (SIAP).

Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems has teamed with world-class companies renowned for their expertise in applicable systems and sub-system technologies in order to provide the MOD with a proven solution for Watchkeeper, which is affordable, upgradeable and available to the MOD at the earliest opportunity.

It is a solution that combines some of the world’s best equipment suppliers in the ISTAR arena, brought together by the UK ’s foremost systems integrator and all manufactured and supported in the United Kingdom. 

Lockheed Martin’s world-class team has an intimate understanding of the Watchkeeper requirement and its context.  It is involved in a wide range of programmes with a relationship to Watchkeeper, but moreover, as a prime systems integrator, it has a thorough understanding of the System of Systems that will provide:

• High quality, tactical intelligence
• Mission planning and battlespace management
• Effects management (ie firing the most effective munition from the appropriate platform to neutralise an enemy)

The Lockheed Martin team also has the technical ability and experience in the most complex systems integration environments to assist the MOD in delivering an effective, joined-up, network-enabled warfighting capability.

Colin Casson, Lockheed Martin’s Watchkeeper Programme Manager said: “We are looking at the big picture to ensure we will deliver a solution for Watchkeeper that can provide operational capability within an overall C4ISTAR and integrated battlefield context.”

A key component of the system is the EADS Eagle UAV, which will be the higher flying, long endurance air vehicle for Lockheed Martin’s Watchkeeper bid.  Last month, the Eagle was demonstrated successfully by EADS to the Swedish MOD at Kiruna , Sweden , in front of an international audience including representation by the UK MOD.  The Eagle UAV system was downselected by the Swedish MOD following a competitive assessment, where it was found superior (in performance and price) to other candidates such as the Predator, I-Gnat, Hermes 450 and 1500.

The Eagle is the world’s most advanced UAV of its type, is simple to operate and will deliver a broad range of features to the Watchkeeper programme including:

• fully autonomous flight – certified and proven compatibility with civil and military air traffic control (ATC) systems.  Fully equipped for airspace integration including IFF modes, ATC radio relay, back-ups and provision of sense and avoid equipment.
• fully automatic take-off and landing – with reversionary mode available
• high degree of in-built redundancy – fail-safe avionics approach with split control surfaces and a FAR33 certified engine.
• low operating costs – no trained pilots required for operations
• high performance and flexible payload – sensors including EO/IR, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), with Moving Target Indicator (MTI) overlay, Target Tracking, Laser Target Designation and Data Relay capability.  Any combination of these sensors can be carried.
• advanced, modular ground control station – reduced operator loading with reconfigurable terminals and easily upgradeable open-architecture mission control systems.
• Record-breaking height and endurance characteristics – Eagle holds the endurance and altitude records for Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs with respectively 52 hours and 34,000 feet.

Mr Casson added: “Watchkeeper is all about getting the right information into the hands of battlefield commanders and to do that you need the best equipment collecting the best quality information.  Many countries in Europe and around the world are now looking to Eagle to provide this.  I am convinced that Eagle is the best equipment available to meet this element of the Watchkeeper requirement.”

The Lockheed Martin system solution for Watchkeeper consists of the high flying Eagle, which surveys the entire battlefield, and the Spectre 3, which can go close in to investigate particular areas of interest in greater detail.  These aircraft communicate information derived from a variety of specialised sensors to mobile ground stations where the information is analysed and passed to battlefield commanders in the form of intelligence on requested formations, vehicles or even individual troops.

The list of partners announced by Lockheed Martin includes:

Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems ( UK ) – Prime Contractor and overall systems integrator.

INSYS ( UK ) – Installation and integration of all ground systems, including ground control stations (GCSs), launch and recovery vehicles (LRVs), remote viewing terminals (RVTs). 

EADS ( UK ) – Supplier of the Eagle ‘A’ air vehicle and Ground Control Station software. 

Meggitt ( UK ) – Supplier of the Spectre 3 ‘B’ air vehicle with advanced EO/IR sensors and an Eagle downsized data link to provide commonality and interoperability.

QinetiQ ( UK ) – Key enabling technologies derived from its research programmes and UAV activities. 

Supacat ( UK ) – Supply of latest 6x6 High Mobility Trucks (HMT) to meet the Watchkeeper mobility requirement. 

Aerosystems International ( UK ) – Software integration.

Systems Consultants Services ( UK ) – Advisors on concept of operations and doctrine.

As part of the world’s largest defence company, Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems will benefit from the support of four US Lockheed Martin companies; Aeronautics (Skunk Works); Management and Data Systems (M&DS); Mission Systems and Information Systems.  They will bring expert engineering staff and access to US technology related to UAV systems, C4ISTAR management, exploitation and dissemination, synthetic environments and training simulators.