Defense Contract Awarded to El Paso

Lockheed Martin area facility secures missile contract
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 02/12/2008 12:00:00 AM MST


Lockheed Martin's $194 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to build the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, will keep its Horizon City assembly operation busy at least until 2010. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)Lockheed Martin was awarded a $194 million contract to continue producing ATACMS missiles, which bodes well for the future of the Horizon City facility where the high-tech weapons are assembled.
Since production started on the ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile Systems, in the early 1990s, more than 2,000 missiles came out of the plant which employs 20 workers. The new contract is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2010, but more contracts are expected to overlap, said company spokesman Craig Vanbebber.

"The continued production of ATACMS is evidence that the missile is working and working well," Vanbebber said.

The new order, awarded by the U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command, won't add jobs and there are no local contractors to benefit from the windfall, Lockheed Martin officials said.

But keeping Lockheed Martin's El Paso-area operations going is crucial to attract more high-tech military contractors, business leaders said.

Bob Cook, president of the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp., said he received an inquiry from an aerospace company last week.

"We tell them about Lockheed Martin," he said. "It's very important for companies in the aerospace industry that are considering El Paso to see that similar production is already taking place here."

Lockheed Martin chose Horizon City because it was a remote location to handle explosives and because it was close to the testing site at White Sands Missile Range.

"It's one of the only places they can fire that missile, because of the size of the range. It adds a lot of value to be able to test and assess the missile nearby," said Chuck Harre, vice president of combat training and installation support for CAS Inc., a weapons system analysis contractor in El Paso, and the armed forces chair for the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.
The ATACMS were first launched April 26, 1988, at White Sands.

The long-range missile artillery round can hit targets at ranges up to 300 kilometers (180 miles).

"We take great pride in testing the ATACMS," said White Sands spokesman Larry Furrow. "It helps us to hone our skills in the testing area to assist in developing and testing of ATACMS."

Parts for the missiles are made around the country, including in Dallas where the warhead skins are produced, and sent to Horizon City to be assembled and put in a launch canister, Vanbebber said. The ATACMS are used by the U.S. field artillery out of Fort Sill, Okla.

During the first Operation Desert Storm, ATACMS became the first tactical surface-to-surface missile ever fired in combat by the U.S. Army. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, 456 missiles were fired. The newest contract is not necessarily tied to the war in Iraq but the missiles are used "in theater," Vanbebber said.

The Horizon plant is producing only ATACMS, but that could change.

"We hope this facility will be able to attract more contracts, beyond ATACMS," RedCo's Bob Cook said.