The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) recently awarded Lockheed Martin a major, $240 million contract to support the modeling and simulation framework for the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), a crucial national security program.

Through this contract, the Modeling and Simulation Contract – Framework and Tools (MASC-F), Lockheed Martin will ensure the BMDS remains ready for modern evolving threats by continually assessing system configurations, engagement conditions and target phenomena.

In a press release, the company said that the work on the MASC-F program will be performed at Lockheed Martin’s Huntsville facility.

“Testing the different elements of the Ballistic Missile Defense System together is an extremely complicated process,” said JD Hammond, vice president of C4ISR Systems for Lockheed Martin. “MASC-F will enable the MDA to run ‘what-if’ scenarios before fielding new configurations to ensure the warfighter gets the most effective system possible.”

Working with the MDA, Lockheed Martin’s team will enhance the system’s foundational simulation framework.

The Lockheed Martin-led team also includes Huntsville-based Dynetics and more subcontract teammates, such as: Northrop Grumman, CohesionForce, PeopleTec, Penta Research, Corvid Technologies, Archarithms, ISYS Technologies and M&M Technical Services Inc. The team will mature capabilities and develop common interfaces to join digital and hardware-in-the-loop representations into one modular, scalable, reconfigurable system.

Additionally, MASC-F will provide additional products and tools to support the MDA’s modeling and simulation enterprise and provide critical data to assess the operational effectiveness and survivability of the BMDS and its elements.

Through computer-based tools, modeling, algorithms and analysis techniques, MASC-F will enable the integration of real-world hardware and constructive models from each of the BMDS program elements into one system that accurately represents the performance of fielded BMDS equipment. These will then be used to evaluate fielded and conceptual BMDS architectures against a variety of threats in realistic environments.

Lockheed Martin also has a campus in Pike County, which recently broke ground on a new production facility. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, where it is led by University of Alabama alumna Marillyn Hewson.

RELATED: University of Alabama grad named nation’s most powerful woman in business

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn