Lockheed Martin opens hypersonic strike production facility

Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md., U.S.) has opened an advanced production facility in Courtland, Ala., U.S. that is focused on hypersonic strike production. The corporation is said to be working closely with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD, Arlington, Va., U.S.) to deliver new warfare capabilities.

By opening the 65,000-square-foot Hypersonic Missile Assembly Building 4 (MAB 4), Lockheed Martin is establishing northern Alabama as the base of its hypersonic strike programs. The programs produced at this site support several U.S. military branches and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Arlington, Va., U.S.), including CPS, Long Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon.

“Our long-time partnerships with Alabama, the Department of Defense and academic researchers have paved the way to develop the most advanced hypersonic strike capabilities using the best digital technologies from across our enterprise,” comments Sarah Hiza, vice president and general manager of Strategic and Missile Defense Systems at Lockheed Martin Space (Denver, Colo., U.S.).

This location integrates digital transformation advancements such as robotic thermal protection application capabilities, smart torque tools and mixed-reality capabilities for training and virtual inspections. The machines in this facility will reportedly connect to the company’s Intelligent Factory Framework early next year, which digitally links the company’s production facilities and assets to enable insights into the health, status and optimization of operations. 

The Courtland site houses one of four transformational manufacturing facilities that Lockheed Martin is opening in the U.S. within a year. Within the last two years, Lockheed Martin has added a total of 117,000 square feet at the Courtland facility. The opening of MAB4 will bring an estimated 70 jobs to the area, adding to the approximately 2,600 employees already based in the state.