Submitted by TEAM Public Affairs, Pax River

NAVAIR awarded the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (LM Aero) the last of four concept exploration study contracts for the Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program. Lockheed Martin's concept is a remanufacture of the P-3 and EP-3 aircraft. The contract is worth $490,000 The U.S. Navy commissioned these MMA studies because it will soon have to upgrade or replace its fleet of aging P-3 Orion and EP-3 Aries aircraft.

Lockheed Martin's study will explore how to remanufacture the P-3 and EP-3 enabling the Navy to continue flying these aircraft through 2040. They will determine which is the best approach to extend the life of the airframe in addition to upgrading the engines and aircraft subsystems to improve their sustainability, reliability and performance.

The results of this five-month study will be used by the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) which is conducting the MMA Analysis of Alternatives.This analysis will examine a comprehensive range of MMA alternatives to select the preferred MMA concept.