Lockheed Martin wins £20m UK contract for hypersonic target project

Lockheed Martin UK has been awarded a £20m contract to design and build a hypersonic target capable of simulating threats travelling at speeds above Mach 5. The contract, part of Project Bowline, was issued by the UK’s National Armaments Director (NAD) Group under the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Science and Technology Oriented Research and Development in Missile Defence (STORM) programme, which is managed by the UK Missile Defence Centre. Lockheed Martin UK will carry out the design, manufacturing, qualification, and testing of the hypersonic target at its Bedfordshire facility. The programme aims to provide a realistic test environment for countering advanced missile threats, underscoring the UK’s focus on next-generation defence capabilities.