The two companies will collaborate on Rafael's SPICE air-to-surface weapon systems with part of production to be carried out in the US.
Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and US giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK, to evaluate potential markets and customer requirements for Rafael's Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective (SPICE) missile guidance kits.
Rafael EVP, head of Air & C4ISR Division Yuval Miller said, "SPICE is a leading air-to-surface weapon system offering US and international air forces operating Lockheed Martin's platforms, as well as strategic bomber aircraft, an important complement to their existing operational capabilities. SPICE's unique features greatly enhance the US ability to operate in contested environments. We are excited to engage in cooperation with Lockheed Martin to make SPICE available as a US-made system, adapted to fully meet US standards."
SPICE is a family of stand-off, autonomous, air-to-surface weapon systems, capable of destroying targets with pinpoint accuracy and at high attack volumes in a GPS-denied environment. Combat-proven and in service with the Israeli Air Force and several international customers, SPICE employs a state-of-the-art electro-optical seeker with unique scene-matching algorithms, navigation guidance and homing techniques to achieve operational missions in adverse weather without GPS. The MOU covers the SPICE 1000 (453 kilogram/1,000 pound weight class) and SPICE 2000 (907 kilogram / 2,000 pound weight class) precision guided missile kit variants.
"Lockheed Martin has a long history of successfully providing customers with missiles and missile systems that are affordable, proven and in production," said Dan Norton, vice president of Strategy and Business Development at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "This partnership will allow us to share our precision guided system and aircraft integration expertise with allies that can benefit from the mission flexibility that the SPICE 1000 and SPICE 2000 offer."
Rafael hopes that the collaboration with Lockheed Martin will allow it to expand sales and marketing operations for SPICE to new overseas markets with an emphasis on the US. Rafael and Lockheed Martin have been cooperating for many years on weapons systems including the Spike anti-tank guided missile and the Popeye air-to-surface missile. As part of this latest deal, Rafael has agreed that part of production will be carried out in the US.