April 11 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) said on

Thursday it had won a contract worth up to $4.1 billion from the

U.S. government's Missile Defense Agency to continue the

development of its battle command system.

The contract will aim at developing and upgrading the

Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications

(C2BMC)-Next system.

The C2BMC is a hardware and software interface for the

ballistic missile defense system used by the U.S. defense forces

for coordinated responses to emerging threats.

"Part of C2BMC-Next will be enhancing global integration,

exploring possibilities of linking this decades-long proven,

operationally fielded system with allied nations for the first

time," the company said.

The ordering period of the contract is from May 1, 2024

through April 30, 2029, with an option to extend through April

30, 2034.

The defense company added that it will perform the

upgradations at a new Huntsville, Alabama facility and Colorado

Springs, Colorado.