Lockheed Martin has confirmed that its programme to collaborate on further modernisation of the Israeli Rafael Python 4 will mark its entry into the air-to-air missile business as a US competitor to Raytheon, which now has a monopoly on supply to the US services.
The current talks will determine how the weapon will be further enhanced, and how the work will be divided, said Lockheed Martin's David Lundquist, talking to Flight International before the show started.
"Obvious areas for modernisation include the electronics package and potentially the seeker," he adds. Hardware and software development is subject to further negotiation, but Lundquist says he expects to see the improved weapon flight tested in Israel.
Lockheed Martin does not envision building a large quantity of the existing missile in the USA. The production split for the updated weapon has yet to be determined, and "-it is very possible that we will deliver the product from Israel and the USA", Lundquist says.
A joint venture allows both sides "-to split the costs and risks and, hopefully, claim larger, important markets", says Eli Yitzhak, president of Rafael USA.
Source: Flight International