Lockheed Martin received a $184.3 million undefinitized contract action from the U.S. Army to begin production of 29 additional Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDS) to support coalition forces in Afghanistan.

In 2010, Lockheed Martin delivered 28 PTDS for use in theater, bringing the total number of systems provided to the U.S. Army to 37.

PTDS is a highly effective, combat-proven, aerostat-based intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications system in support of force-protection and counter-IED (improvised explosive devices) missions. Used by the Army since 2004, the systems provide around-the-clock coverage of broad geographic areas for weeks at a time with multi-mission sensors.

"Over the past several years, the Department of Defense has placed an increased emphasis on delivering affordable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the warfighter," said Colleen Arthur, Director of Lockheed Martin's Integrated Defense Technologies business.

"PTDS has been doing just that in Iraq and Afghanistan. By providing timely and actionable intelligence, PTDS helps protect our troops from IEDs and other types of threats", she added.