OVERVIEW Inherently, big defense contractors are expected to eliminate jobs as the Pentagon has lowered spending on traditional weapon systems, while smaller, niche companies may accelerate hiring as the United States garners resources to protect ground troops and strategic computer networks. Industry pioneer Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) aims to reduce 600 jobs as a result of the US Defense Department's decision to terminate the VH-71 presidential helicopter program. The Boeing Company (BA) hinted that Pentagon cuts would claim 1,000 jobs in its defense business, affecting staffing at various work sites in the United States in missile defense and in the Army's Future Combat Systems modernization program, which is now being opened to more competition. The large commercial aircraft sector is expected to generate most of its revenue from Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) and the Middle East, relying less on U.S. orders because of the ...

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) has recently bagged an $853.3 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the Trident II missile production and deployed system support. Work is expected to be completed by Dec 30, 2013.   Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California, Trident II is a submarine variant ballistic missile. It is extensively used by the U.S. and the U.K. The addition of $853.3 million would boost the beleaguered backlog of the company, which shrunk to $76.4 billion after the first nine months of the fiscal 2009 from $80.9 billion at year-end fiscal 2008. The downside in order backlog came through the cancellation of quite a few high-cost platform programs in recent times. Prominent among them were TSAT Mission Operations System (TMOS) contract, F-22 Raptor program and the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter (VH-71) program.   Lockheed Martin remains a key player within the military space and ...

Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) yesterday bagged a $133 million contract from the U.S. Army to provide eight threat detection systems. The company will supply the systems over the next 11 months. The U.S. Army is already using nine such systems. Lockheed’s detection systems are equipped with multi-mission sensors to provide intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications to support coalition forces. 

In recent times, Lockheed Martin Corporation has witnessed the cancellation of quite a few prominent programs such as the TSAT Mission Operations System (TMOS) contract, F-22 Raptor program and the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter (VH-71) program. Lockheed Martin’s high-cost platform programs were the prime targets of the Obama administration for budget cuts. The addition of $133 million would boost the beleaguered backlog of the company, which shrunk to $79.2 billion after the first half of the fiscal 2009 from $80.9 billion at year-end fiscal 2008. 

Lockheed Martin remains …

Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) bagged a $421.1 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for upgrading the Air Force’s command and control center, Weapon System Integrator. The company will provide systems engineering, integration, modernization, maintenance, management and contingency support. In recent times, Lockheed Martin has witnessed the cancellation of quite a few prominent programs such as the TSAT Mission Operations System (TMOS) contract, F-22 Raptor program and the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter (VH-71) program. Lockheed’s high-cost platform programs were the prime targets of the Obama Administration for budget cuts. The addition of $421.1 million would boost the beleaguered backlog of the company, which reduced to $79.2 billion after the first half of the fiscal 2009 from $80.9 billion after year-end fiscal 2008. Lockheed Martin remains a key player within the military space and continues to benefit from strong defense spending. The company’s customer base includes the ...

Los Angeles-based leading shipbuilder and the second largest U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) reported unimpressive second quarter results, with EPS of $1.21 missing the consensus by 8 cents. Affected by pension costs and a weak shipbuilding segment, results were weaker than the peer group, which includes Boeing (BA), Lockheed Martin (LMT), and Raytheon Company (RTN). The company however reaffirmed its fiscal outlook. For fiscal 2009, we expect the company’s topline to be near the $35 billion mark with EPS hovering near $5.  However on the revenue front the company registered close to $9 billion, up 4% year-over-year, beating the consensus expectation of $8.7 billion. In the quarter, Electronic Systems and Technical Services sales grew by double digits, with impressive growth from the Aerospace systems, and the steady Information Systems segment.  However, the Achilles heel was the Shipbuilding segment where sales shrunk ...