Lockheed Martin, Department of Defense, state and local officials celebrated the opening of the company’s $18 million engineering facility, labs and demonstration center at Redstone Gateway in Huntsville.

The 122,000-square foot facility has space for 500 employees who will advance national security capabilities and drive innovation in North Alabama.   

“The crucial work being done here by our customers, our company, and our industry partners has made Alabama a key 21st century, high-tech defense and deterrence provider that’s ramping up to ensure our troops will stay ahead of accelerating threats across every domain – land, sea, air, space, and cyber,” said Stephanie C. Hill, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems president.  

“I am proud to celebrate the opening of Lockheed Martin’s new engineering facility. Alabama is proud to support our military and defense sectors, and Lockheed Martin’s presence in our state plays a crucial role in advancing national security, ensuring that our nation remains at the forefront of technological advancement,” said Gov. Kay Ivey.  “Lockheed Martin’s continued investment in Alabama is a testament to the strength of our workforce and the strategic importance of Huntsville in shaping the future of defense.”  

Work performed at the site supports a more than 60-year legacy of Lockheed Martin customer partnerships in Huntsville supporting air, space, land, sea and cyber domains.

With the opening of the facility, Lockheed Martin’s footprint in Alabama expands to 30 work sites in the state employing over 3,300 people. 

Teams in the new facility will include:  

• Readiness and sustainment for the Army’s Black Hawk helicopter, including the current Multi-Year X contract with production, Foreign Military Sales and all upgrades to the aircraft.  
  • The team is working toward a Multi-Year XI contract opportunity that will result in a modernized Black Hawk featuring more range, payload and networked connectivity to ensure the Black Hawk of tomorrow stays ahead of the threat. 
• Missile Defense Agency Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system. C2BMC is a layered missile defense system providing commanders the ability to make synchronized decisions about threats at any range, in any phase of flight, from any location in the world.  
• Modeling and Simulation Contract – Framework and Tools program, supporting the modeling and simulation framework for the Ballistic Missile Defense System.

This site will further enhance the company’s 1LMX digital transformation that drives efficiencies, connecting and optimizing engineering tools to enable Lockheed Martin’s workforce to deliver critical capabilities with more agility.  

A new Lockheed Martin Rotary Wing Innovation Center, equipped with a modernized Sikorsky Black Hawk mission simulator and next-generation capability simulation tools, will offer the Army an interactive view into the future of the Black Hawk and capabilities for the enduring fleet.

The center will be a meeting place for key stakeholders across the military, government, and industry to chart a path forward for Army aviation for decades to come.

Additional Lockheed Martin programs in Huntsville include the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, Next Generation Interceptor, Javelin Weapon System, and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.

This story originally appeared in 256 Today.