Lockheed Targeting European ISR Market; Mark Grablin Comments

Lockheed Martin expects an invitation to tender from a European Union border security organization interested in buying the company’s ISR services (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services), National Defense Magazine reports.

Mark Grablin, the company’s director of airborne reconnaissance systems, told Valerie Insinna and a group of reporters Frontex is seeking to acquire contractor owned and operated services for the company’s Dragon family of ISR systems.

According to Insinna’s story, Grablin said customers submit customized orders for Dragon system capabilities, ranging from services both owned and operated by Lockheed to the customer owning the equipment and the contractor responsible for ISR duties.

Currently, capabilities in Europe are limited to manned aircraft as it is illegal to use unmanned aerial vehicles in civilian airspace, according to the report.

For its part, the company demonstrated its DA-42 system and FLIR Electro Optical/InfraRed camera to Frontex last year, Insinna reports.

Maryllin Hewson, slated to be Lockheed’s chief operating officer Jan. 2, said in July that airborne ISR systems are an avenue for the company to increase its international sales.