The Longbow FCR V6 produced through a Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin JV has double the detection range and new software modes and functions. Credit: Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Longbow (LBL) has secured a five-year contract from the US Army worth up to $235.8m for work related to fire control radar (FCR) sustainment.

Longbow is a joint venture (JV) of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

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Under the sustainment indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, the company will be responsible for providing post-production support services for the AH-64 Apache helicopter AN/APG-78 LONGBOW FCR to foreign military customers.

Services include programme and logistics management, as well as replenishment of depot parts.

Based on the requirements, Longbow will also repair system modules, as well as provide field engineering support, and operator and maintainer training for AH-64D and AH-64E configurations.

Longbow vice-president Shalini Gupta said: “A significant benefit of the sustainment IDIQ contract vehicle is rapid contract award timeline for our international allies.

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“LBL can now be awarded sustainment task orders within weeks after letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) signature, versus the previous timeline of years to complete the contract process.”

The contract includes initial task orders for 12 foreign military customers in 11 countries.

Three of them have been awarded and the others are planned for transition by the end of this year. During the contract period of performance, more customers may also be added.

The Longbow radar provides automatic target detection, location, classification and prioritisation to Apache aircrews.

Furthermore, it enables multi-target engagement in different weather conditions over multiple types of terrain.

During the US Army’s AH-64E Apache Follow-On Test and Evaluation II (FOT&E II) conducted in November last year, the modernised Version 6 Longbow FCR demonstrated new operational capabilities.

In July 2018, the US Army awarded $170.5m in contracts to Longbow for Apache AH-64E fire control radar (FCR) systems.

To date, the army and 12 countries received nearly 500 LONGBOW FCR systems.

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