Lockheed Martin as prime contractor leading a consortium of five major defense contractors, has been awarded a follow-on contract with an estimated value of $980M to continue work on the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications program for the Missile Defense Agency.

The contractors, known as the Missile Defense National Team, will continue development, operations, and sustainment work.

"The team is providing in-depth technical knowledge to achieve the newest, most evolved capabilities for the Ballistic Missile Defense System," said John Osborn, director of Missile Defense Systems for Lockheed Martin IS and GS-Defense.

"The historical knowledge of the mission, along with our proven implementation of creative solutions, as developed on C2BMC since 2002, will result in continuity of operations for the fielded C2BMC capabilities located worldwide and evolving challenges to come."

The C2BMC program is the "integrating element" for the Ballistic Missile Defense System and links the various sensors and weapon systems.

The system is the force multiplier providing capabilities to integrate and globally synchronize missile defense systems and operations, providing an optimized, layered defense against all ranges of threats and in all phases of flight. The majority of the work is conducted in Arlington, Va., Huntsville, Ala., and Colorado Springs, Colo.