WASHINGTON, January 8 (Sputnik) — The US Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $78 million contract to upgrade the surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), the defense contractor announced Wednesday.
“The program will take hardware from early-production ATACMS Block 1 missiles and develop an enhanced and affordable weapon system capable of eliminating targets without the risk of unexploded ordnance, which meets the U.S. Army’s long-range precision strike requirement,” Lockheed Martin said in a press release.
The ATACMS is the US Army’s only tactical long-range precision surface-to-surface weapon with a range of up to 300 kilometers (185 miles). Lockheed Martin has produced more than 3,700 of the missiles over the past 20 years. Nearly 560 have been used in combat, including the Persian Gulf War and Iraq War. The ATACMS destroyed enemy airfields, surface-to-air systems, artillery and command centers.
Lockheed Martin will test the upgrade before beginning production in early 2016, according to the press release.
