Lockheed Martin (LMT) Wins Contract for UH-60M Black Hawk

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s LMT business unit, Sikorsky Aircraft, recently clinched a modification contract for the UH-60M Black Hawk aircraft. The deal has been awarded by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL.  

Valued at $98.9 million, the contract is expected to be completed by Jun 30, 2027. The work related to this deal will be executed in Stratford, CT.

Importance of UH-60M Black Hawk

The multi-mission UH-60M is the latest in the Black Hawk helicopter family. The helicopter boasts features that make it more capable, survivable, maintainable, powerful and effective than its predecessors.

Moreover, the UH-60M has an additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, better handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control and improved survivability. It offers improved performance using high-speed machine parts.

The aircraft is the primary medium-lift helicopter for the U.S. Army and performs a range of missions that encompass Air Assault, MEDEVAC, CSAR, Command and Control and VIP transport. The centerpiece of the UH-60M Black Hawk is an advanced digital avionics suite that delivers improved situational awareness and interoperability with the Future Combat System.

Due to its remarkable features, which are well-suited for any military mission, Lockheed Martin continues to witness a steady inflow of orders involving the helicopter. The latest contract win is a testament to that. This shall bolster LMT’s revenues from the helicopter arena.

Growth Prospects

Nations are increasing their defense spending to strengthen their defense system to deter any sudden assault. In such a scenario, the demand for defense weaponry and arsenals has been continuously gaining momentum. In this context, an efficient military helicopter that plays an important role in military missions may witness a rise in demand going forward.

Per Globenewswire, the military helicopter market is expected to witness a CAGR of more than 5.3% over the 2020-2025 period. Such projections exemplify immense opportunities for Lockheed Martin to capitalize on the expanding market.

Moreover, such abounding growth prospects stand to benefit Lockheed Martin, which boasts a strong portfolio of military helicopters. Defense majors that can reap the benefits of the expanding market are Northrop Grumman NOC, Boeing BA and Textron TXT.

Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout is a combat-proven, autonomous helicopter system providing real-time intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition, laser designation and battle management for tactical users without relying on manned aircraft or space-based assets. It’s available in two variants — MQ-8B Fire Scout and MQ-8C Fire Scout.

Northrop Grumman’s stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 2.9%. Shares of NOC have delivered a 41.2% return to investors in the past year.

Boeing has leading-edge solutions, coupled with the in-depth experience in constructing military helicopters. Some of its military helicopters are MH-139, AH-6 Little Bird, AH-64 Apache, V-22 Osprey, H-47 Chinook and Future Vertical Lift.

Boeing’s stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 4%. Shares of BA have increased 32.5% in the past six months.

Textron’s Bell segment is one of the leading suppliers of military and commercial helicopters, tiltrotor aircraft, and related spare parts and services in the world. Its military helicopter product range includes Bell 360, Bell V-280, Bell AH-1Z, Bell UH-1Y, Bell Huey II and Bell V-22.

Textron’s stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 15.2%. TXT shares have increased 6.8% in the past six months.

Price Movement

In the past year, shares of Lockheed Martin have rallied 37.5% against the industry’s fall of 10.5%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank

Lockheed Martin currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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