Aerial Common Sensor

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The Lockheed Martin Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) platform was a reconnaissance aircraft airframe, for the United States Army and Navy. The aircraft would have been able to detect troop movements, intercept enemy communications and radar transmissions, and communicate with other aircraft. It would have hadsynthetic aperture radar, electro-optical and infrared detection instrumentation. The program was cancelled on January 12, 2006.

The Army intended to acquire 34 units, with 19 going to the Navy. The initial contract, awarded on August 3, 2004, was valued at $79 million, but total contract value through 2010 would have been $879 million. Beyond that, the total program cost was to reach $7 billion, with only 20–30% going to the platform vendor. The ACS would have replaced three existing Army and Navy platforms—the RC-7 ARL, RC-12/RU-21 Guardrail, and EP-3E Aries II. Testing was to begin in 2006, and full-rate production would have begun in 2009. While the Army was fully committed, the Navy never did, and may instead opt for a modified version of the P-8 Multimission Maritime Aircraft.

The Lockheed Martin entry beat a consortium of Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Gulfstream, using the G450 platform. The competing entry attempted to play up nationalist sympathies, and give the impression of a security risk by using a Brazilian airframe, provided by EMBRAER, using their more affordable, reliable, and cost effective (the latter two being questioned) ERJ 145 platform — Gulfstream's airframe did have longer range and could fly at higher altitudes but the acquisition and operational costs (main requirements of DoD for ACS platform) of ERJ 145 were considered much more attractive. Both electronics packages were equivalent and had no major influence in this decision. It was later decided that the ERJ 145 would not suffice due to weight constraintsTemplate:Ref and thus, while Lockheed was to retain the system integrator role, the Army attempted to re-bid platform entry among several larger aircraft.

EMBRAER was to produce the first five airframes in Brazil (based upon the commercial ERJ 145), while final assembly on following units would have taken place in Jacksonville, Florida, to satisfy Department of Defense workshare requirements. Electronics integration will be conducted by Lockheed Martin at an unannounced site.

Lockheed has faced criticism from the Department of Defense, and specifically, the U.S. Army, for not being able to properly forecast weight issues with the system. The Army claimed in an August 11, 2005 article in The Wall Street Journal that Lockheed could potentially lose the contract if they did not resolve the issue.

ACS was finally cancelled on January 12, 2006.Template:Ref The Department of Defense paid a contract termination fee of $200 million, nearly all of which was passed on to subcontractors such as Harris Corporation and L-3 Communications. Most Lockheed Martin and Army personnel were reassigned to other projects.Template:Ref

Boeing is pitching a modified version of the P-8 Multimission Maritime Aircraft to fill the ACS role.Template:Ref

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