Lockheed Martin So Sick of Stupid MTA Surveillance Contract

It's been more than seven years since the attacks of September 11th inspired the MTA to beef up security in the transit system, but a massive effort to improve surveillance underground is still incomplete. Back in 2005, the authority sealed a $212 million deal with Lockheed Martin to install 1,000 video cameras and 3,000 motion sensors, as well as enable cellphone service in 277 underground stations. Today the Times reports that large parts of the project are not "scheduled" to be completed until September, and that estimate doesn't even include parts of the under-river tunnels used by the subway and the Long Island Rail Road. The project was supposed to be done last August.

Now Lockheed Martin has asked a federal judge to release it from the project, and blames the numerous delays on the MTA, arguing that the authority has refused to shut down the tunnels so they could install the equipment. But the MTA says the system Lockheed installed is a big fat FAIL, and the state comptroller reported last spring [pdf] that 400 of 1,400 software elements in the system did not pass tests. The software connected to cameras is supposed to detect an unattended object left on a station platform, and then alert law enforcement.

In a statement, MTA officials rubbed Lockheed's nose in it, saying, "It has taken longer than expected because of Lockheed’s inability to resolve certain critical system issues." The cost of the project has now swollen to $453 million, of which the company's been paid about $250 million so far. According to the Post, Lockheed is claiming losses of $3 million a month while "key personnel" languish on the stalled project, and it intends to file a separate suit to recover damages.