Lockheed proposes $5bn Aegis ships sale to Saudi Arabia

Lockheed Martin Corp has proposed selling to Saudi Arabia

eight Littoral Combat Ship hulls outfitted with its Aegis radar

(Bloomberg Images - for illustrative purposes only)

26 May 2011 By Bloomberg - arabianbusiness.com

Lockheed Martin Corp has proposed selling to Saudi Arabia eight Littoral Combat Ship hulls outfitted with its Aegis radar in a package that may be valued at $5bn, a company executive said.

“What we are offering is the Aegis SPY 1F system on the Littoral Combat Ship,” Paul Lemmo, vice president of business development at Lockheed’s Mission Systems and Sensors unit, said in an interview today in Arlington, Virginia.

The Aegis SPY-1F is a smaller, lighter version of the air and missile defense radar deployed on US Navy ships.

Saudi Arabia is seeking eight surface combatant ships, such as the Littoral Combat Ship, as the “centerpiece of its plan to recapitalise its eastern fleet” that may also include fast- patrol boats, helicopters and drones, he said.

Lockheed’s proposal was made to Saudi Arabia through the US Navy, which is offering both the Littoral Combat Ship models to Saudi Arabia, Lemmo said.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed is the prime contractor for one of the two Littoral Combat Ship models being bought by the US Navy. A team led by Austal Ltd, and including General Dynamics Corp. is building the other model.