Lockheed Martin-Boeing JV to Offer Rocket Launch Services
United Launch Alliance (:ULA) — a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and The Boeing Co. (BA) — won a sizable contract, worth $938.4 million, from the U.S. Air Force for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle or EELV launch capability for the Delta IV and Atlas V families of rockets.
This is a modification contract that runs through Sep 30, 2015. The contract calls for additional work in areas like mission assurance, program management, systems engineering, integration of the space vehicle with the launch vehicle, launch site and range operations, and launch infrastructure maintenance and sustainment.
ULA provides U.S. government missions with affordable, consistent and assured access to space. It has three launch vehicles – Atlas V, Delta IV and Delta II.
EELV, the U.S. Air Force’s space lift modernization program, commenced in 1994. The objective of the program is to make space launch vehicles more cost-effective and reliable. Per the program, the existing fleets are being replaced with two families of launch vehicles – the Boeing Delta IV and the Lockheed Martin Atlas V. These initiatives will reduce the cost of launching the Atlas, Delta and Titan space launch systems by 25%.
The U.S. has in recent times stepped up its space ventures and the defense contractors specializing in space systems see a lot of opportunity here in the wake of dwindling offers from other core defense areas. Recently, ULA plans to team up with Blue Origin, a company run by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos, to develop a new rocket engine.
ULA's launch vehicles have played a significant role in U.S. space ventures with the highest commitment to crew safety and mission success.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin retain a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Air Industries Group (AIRI) is a better-ranked stock with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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