Lockheed Martin is to start producing radar systems in Romania in partnership with a local company, an official of the US company told Ziarul Financiar.
"We are not yet able to reveal the name of the company in Romania with which we are involved for this project. The production of radar systems for civilian and military use will begin this year, with the systems initially being made for the domestic market only. The project during this stage will be worth some 100 million dollars."
The United States'' Export-Import Bank will guarantee the contracting of the necessary funding of about 100 million dollars by the Romanian party to the deal.
"Romania will be the first location outside the US where Lockheed Martin will make these latest-generation radars. After the first phase of the project, which will involve sales on the Romanian market, we will consider selling on other markets in Europe and Asia, since, after all, we are talking of a global market," the official added.
The American giant is currently preparing another project for Romania that will see it run forest management and surveillance services. "We want to implement this system in Romania and are in talks with the Romanian authorities to discuss this," Lockheed Martin officials explained.
Earlier this year a delegation of Lockheed Martin officials visited Bucharest to hold talks with the Romanian authorities with a view to creating a regional service centre for Hercules C-130 aircraft with Romanian company Romaero.
Last November, Romaero entered into framework contract with Lockheed Martin worth at least 30 million dollars. Under the contract, the Romanian company will upgrade the Hercules C-130 aircraft used by the Romanian military. Under the agreement Romaero will receive 30 million dollars for the modernisation of four aircraft over the next three years.
The value of the contract will increase if the two companies extend their cooperation to the upgrading of other aircraft of the same type. The agreement will facilitate Romaero''s transformation into a regional maintenance centre for Hercules aircraft.
Lockheed Martin is also involved in a group of American companies that are working on a flood prevention project for Romania with a 38.7 million euro loan guarantee from Eximbank. The credit guarantee will enable Romania to buy equipment, technology and services from Lockheed Martin and other companies to upgrade its weather systems for flood protection.
Lockheed Martin is the United States'' most important systems integrator and provider of information technology services. About 80% of its turnover is derived from contracts with the Department of Defense and other governmental agencies. In 2003 it generated sales of 31.8 billion dollars. adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro
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