Lockheed Martin Gets $103 Mln U.S. Navy Contract For New Automated Test Systems

(RTTNews) - Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) said Monday that the U.S. Navy has awarded the company a contract for new automated test systems to increase aircraft mission readiness.

The $103 million award authorizes two low rate initial production options for the first 36 electronic Consolidated Automated Support System, or eCASS, stations and associated support equipment. Sailors and Marines will use eCASS to troubleshoot and repair aircraft assemblies at sea or ashore, allowing them to return equipment to readiness status quickly and efficiently.

eCASS will replace the current CASS test equipment originally fielded in the early 1990s. CASS is the Navy's standard automatic test equipment family supporting electronics on naval aircraft.

The first eCASS station will be delivered in November 2014. eCASS will support all the aircraft in the Navy's fleet and is extendable to new weapons systems, including the F-35 Lightning II.