According to several sources involved, Tournear allegedly stepped afoul of DoD contracting procedures when awarding two prototype agreements worth approximately $424 million.
The smallsat maker — now known as Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin Company — will report to Lockheed’s space unit and serve as a merchant supplier to other major space primes, Lockheed said.
The Network Tactical Common Data Link system enables secure comms and ISR for carrier strike groups and their air and naval assets.
"With regards to the election, we think that deterrence and deterrence capabilities are an enduring theme, regardless of which party is in the executive branch or who's in control of Congress," said Lockheed Martin COO Frank St. John.
The deal marks the first time Lockheed has sought to acquire a company from its Lockheed Martin ventures portfolio.
Todd Master, Umbra's chief operating officer and a former DARPA official, told Breaking Defense on May 22 that DRIFT "is a legitimately great example of how government can actually advance capability using commercial investments instead of just saying 'leverage commercial' over and over."
Robert Lightfoot, executive VP of Lockheed Martin Space, explained that the Ignite team pulls together four previously separate organizations to undertake fast-paced technology development.
Discover how unmanned systems and emerging technologies are shaping the future of U.S. naval power in Breaking Defense’s new eBook.
Marc Bell, Terran Orbital's CEO, told Breaking Defense that despite the decision to abandon plans for its PredaSAR subsidiary to operate a SAR-sat constellation, the company intends to fully uphold its obligations under a pair of contracts with NRO.