Lockheed May See $4 Billion in Missile Sales After Test Success

By Tony Capaccio

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. may receive new orders for its cruise missiles worth as much as $4.4 billion after the weapon was successful 15 out of 16 times in recent tests, according to the U.S. Air Force.

That record compares with tests during November 2008 and last January and February when just six of 10 missiles detonated on impact or hit their target. The weapon was declared combat- ready five years ago and has been deployed even though its testing record was unsatisfactory.

Lockheed “did a very good job diagnosing and correcting the failures from previous shots,” Major General Charles Davis, the Air Force’s top weapons manager, said in an e-mail.

The missile can be launched from at least five different Air Force and Navy aircraft. It is designed to evade radar and hit with pinpoint accuracy heavily defended targets 200 miles away such as those in North Korea or Iran. More than 650 missiles have been delivered to airbases, Air Force spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Karen Platt said.

The successful tests last month could produce sales worth as much as $4.4 billion through 2023 if the missile program passes a Pentagon review in early December and receives annual funding from Congress thereafter, she said in an e-mail.

Platt said in June that the program faced termination if the next set of tests weren’t successful.