Yahoo Finance Lockheed (LMT) Wins Contract to Modify MH-60R Jet for Australia
Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT recently secured a modification contract involving the MH-60R aircraft. The award has been provided by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD.
Details of the Deal
Valued at $43.4 million, the contract is projected to get completed by May 2026. Per the terms of the deal, Lockheed will be engaged in the production and delivery of one MH-60R aircraft.
The company will also procure one unique modification kit for modifying the MH-60R aircraft from a standard Foreign Military Sales configuration to a unique configuration for the Commonwealth of Australia. The majority of the work related to this deal will be executed in Owego, NY.
Significance of MH-60R Aircraft
The MH-60R Seahawk is the world’s most advanced maritime helicopter designed to operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers. It is equipped for a range of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, naval gunfire support, surveillance, logistics support, personnel transfer and vertical replenishment.
Currently, it is operational and deployed with the U.S. Navy as the primary anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface weapon system for open ocean and littoral zones.
Growth Prospects
The United States, the largest exporter of military weaponry worldwide, is strengthening military resources. This is quite evident from the fiscal 2023 budget proposal worth $773 billion put forward by the Biden administration for the Department of Defense, with $56.5 billion planned investments in combat aircraft. Impressively, the defense budget request reflects a 4.1% increase from the fiscal 2022 enacted amount.
Such solid budgetary provisions should benefit Lockheed and defense manufacturers like Northrop Grumman NOC, Boeing BA and Textron TXT, which also have expertise in manufacturing military aircraft.
Since its inception, Northrop Grumman has been a pioneer in the development of manned aircraft for combat. Northrop Grumman also has a tradition of providing technological leadership in all aspects of military aviation and aircraft, such as manned, unmanned, targeting, surveillance and aircraft self-protection systems. It also enables warfighters to accomplish missions under any condition.
NOC stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 3.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 sales implies growth of 1.6% from the 2021 reported figure.
Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security segment’s primary products include fixed-wing military aircraft, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-15 programs, P-8 programs, KC-46A Tanker and T-7A Red Hawk. This segment also produces rotorcraft and rotary-wing programs, such as CH-47 Chinook, AH-64 Apache and V-22 Osprey.
BA stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 sales implies growth of 5.4% from the 2021 reported figure.
Textron’s business unit, Textron Aviation Defense, designs, builds and supports versatile and globally known military aircraft preferred for training and attack missions. Some of Textron’s renowned products include the Beechcraft T-6C trainer and AT-6 Wolverine.
TXT stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 15.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 sales implies growth of 4.1% from the 2021 reported figure.
Price Movement
In the past year, shares of Lockheed have rallied 37.8% against the industry’s 4.4% decline.
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Zacks Rank
Lockheed Martin currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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