The Air Force has awarded a $1.7 billion contract to Lockheed Martin to provide mission qualification training and associated hardware and software for special operations forces and combat search and rescue crews. The contract falls under the Aircrew Training and Rehearsal Support II program. It’s a repeat win for Lockheed since it held the previous ATARS contract.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.