Lockheed Martin Wins $88.6M Radiant Mercury Contract
Lockheed Martin has received an $88.56 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to produce, install, maintain and modernize Radiant Mercury systems used for secure information exchange across different security domains.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Rotary and Mission Systems business an $88,560,319 contract to support Radiant Mercury, a cross-domain information-sharing system used by the Department of Defense and other government agencies.
According to the contract announcement, the award covers the General Service Cross Domain Solution configuration and includes system production, installation, program management, maintenance, modernization, sustainment, security authorization support, logistics and training.
The contract was awarded on Oct. 20, 2026, with a three-year ordering period running through Oct. 19, 2029. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific in San Diego, California, is the contracting activity under contract number N66001-27-D-0006.
The award establishes a maximum contract ceiling of $88.56 million, but it does not mean the government will immediately spend that entire amount. Individual task orders will establish specific requirements, performance periods, locations and funding.
Why the Navy Needs Radiant Mercury
Military operations often require personnel to share information between computer networks operating at different security classification levels. Those networks cannot simply be connected without controls designed to prevent unauthorized disclosure or the introduction of unsafe data.
A cross-domain solution provides a controlled means of transferring information between otherwise separated security environments. It allows authorized information to move between domains while enforcing applicable security policies.
Radiant Mercury is part of the Navy’s established cross-domain security capability. The Navy’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence identifies Radiant Mercury, also known as RADMERC, as one of its cross-domain solutions for multi-level security and secure information exchange.
The technology supports a practical operational requirement: making relevant information available to authorized users without removing the security boundaries that protect classified networks.
For naval forces, secure information exchange can support coordination between intelligence organizations, operational command centers and other authorized government users. The usefulness of such systems depends not only on their ability to move data, but also on their ability to preserve the controls governing who can access it.
The new contract continues support for this established capability. The announcement does not identify a new system variant, disclose a major technical upgrade or establish a new operational deployment.
What the $88.56 Million Contract Covers
The award combines technical support with the work required to keep deployed systems operating and compatible with evolving government requirements.
Its principal activities include:
- Production and installation: Providing Radiant Mercury General Service systems and installing them where required.
- Program management: Coordinating contract execution and system support activities.
- Maintenance and sustainment: Supporting existing systems throughout their operational service.
- Modernization: Updating systems to meet changing technical and government requirements.
- Security authorization: Supporting the processes needed to establish and maintain approval for operation within applicable security environments.
- Logistics and training: Providing supporting services for system users and operators.
The contracting structure is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity arrangement. This allows the government to order services and deliverables as requirements emerge, rather than committing the full ceiling to a single delivery schedule at the outset.
The contract guarantees a minimum order value of $50,000 and sets a maximum ceiling of $88,560,319. Funding will come from the applicable appropriations of the government activities placing individual orders.
The award announcement does not specify the number of systems to be produced or installed, the distribution of work among government customers, or the amount of funding initially obligated.
Those distinctions matter when assessing the scale of the award. The ceiling indicates the maximum potential value under the contract, not the confirmed cost of a defined quantity of equipment.
A Sole-Source Award Continues Lockheed Martin’s Role
The Navy did not competitively procure the contract. The award cites 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1), implemented through Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, which permits noncompetitive procurement when only one responsible source can meet the government’s requirements under the applicable justification.
This is relevant because Radiant Mercury is an established system with an existing support and modernization requirement. Replacing a fielded cross-domain solution may involve more than acquiring new hardware. The government must also account for software compatibility, security authorization, system integration, testing and the continuity of existing services.
Earlier procurement records provide additional context for Lockheed Martin’s role.
In 2018, the Navy pursued a follow-on sole-source indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for Radiant Mercury support. The procurement documentation identified the system’s dependence on proprietary software and the incumbent’s ability to meet the government’s established technical and security requirements as factors in the acquisition strategy.
That earlier procurement does not, by itself, establish the specific rationale for every provision of the October 2026 award. The current announcement cites the applicable sole-source authority but does not provide a detailed public explanation of the acquisition decision.
The noncompetitive approach nevertheless illustrates an important issue in military cybersecurity procurement: maintaining an existing accredited system can involve specialized technical dependencies that complicate a change of supplier.
A sole-source contract can preserve continuity, but it also limits direct competition for the work covered by the award. The announcement does not provide enough information to determine whether alternative solutions were evaluated for this particular procurement or whether a competing system could satisfy the same requirements at lower cost.
Cybersecurity and Operational Information Sharing
The contract’s importance extends beyond equipment maintenance. Secure information exchange is a supporting requirement for military command and intelligence operations, particularly when information must pass between organizations that operate under different security restrictions.
The Navy’s historical budget documentation describes Radiant Mercury as a trusted information system designed to support the movement of intelligence and operational data between security enclaves. The documentation also identifies its role in distributing information to operational decision-makers and supporting coordination with authorized coalition partners.
Such capabilities must balance information availability with security enforcement. Allowing too little information to pass can restrict operational awareness, while insufficient controls can expose sensitive data or compromise the integrity of receiving networks.
Maintaining an established cross-domain solution therefore involves ongoing technical and security work, rather than simply keeping computer equipment operational. System changes must remain compatible with applicable authorization requirements and the networks that depend on the solution.
However, the October 2026 award does not disclose specific new security features, software changes, performance improvements or additional deployment locations. It would be premature to describe the contract as introducing a new cybersecurity capability.
What Remains Undisclosed
Several details will be necessary to assess the contract’s eventual operational and financial impact.
The Navy has not specified how many systems will be delivered or modernized, which government organizations will receive the work, or how much funding will be obligated through individual task orders. The announcement also does not identify particular modernization milestones or provide a detailed schedule for system installations.
These omissions are consistent with the structure of an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, under which the government establishes an overall ordering framework and places orders as requirements arise.
The clearest conclusion is that the Navy is continuing its investment in an established secure information-sharing capability. The contract provides a framework for maintaining and updating Radiant Mercury systems over three years, while the actual scope of work and expenditure will depend on subsequent orders.
For Lockheed Martin, the award extends its support role in a specialized area of military information security. For the Navy and other authorized government customers, its practical value will depend on the systems and services delivered, their continued security authorization, and the ability to sustain reliable information exchange across protected networks.
