Lockheed Martin wins contract to build the Trident II D5 Life Extension missile

Lockheed Martin has been contracted to design the next upgrade to the Trident II strategic weapon system (SWS).

The Trident II D5 Life Extension (D5LE2) missile, as the upgraded version will be called, will be carried onboard the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, and is expected to maintain the credibility of the SWS throughout 2084.

Lockheed Martin won a US$383 million contract modification to design and develop the next generation of the Trident II from the US Government.

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The system is expected to be critical to the nation’s sea-based defence for decades to come.

Jerry Mamrol, vice president of Fleet Ballistic Missiles at Lockheed Martin, explained that: “The second life extension of the Trident D5 missile will enable the United States and United Kingdom, through the Polaris Sales Agreement, to maintain credibility deterring evolving threats.”

The D5 missile is the world’s most advanced ballistic missile, and is currently carried onboard the Ohio-class submarine in the US, and the Vanguard-class in the UK. As the Ohio-class is due eventually to be replaced by the Columbia programme as carrier of the US nuclear deterrent, so the Vanguard is due to be replaced by the Dreadnought in the UK.

The new missile will be deployed on the next generation of deterrent submarines.

Lockheed Martin will also build an approximately 225,000 square foot facility in Titusville, Florida to produce components for the D5LE2 submarine-launched ballistic missile.

The new facility is expected to bring 300 new skilled jobs to the area. It is scheduled to be ready for operations in 2027, and is expected to remain in operation for the next six decades of missile production, for use by the US Navy.

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