Moorestown’s Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors has been awarded a $40.6 million contract to engineer, install and test its Aegis Weapon System aboard a South Korean destroyer ship.

According a Wednesday contract briefing from the U.S. Department of Defense, the contract requires Lockheed to perform engineering, computer program development and ship integration and test support to equip the Korean ship with the U.S. Navy Aegis weapon system.

Lockheed has already equipped two South Korean destroyer ships with the system. Officials expect work on the third ship to be completed in 2012.

The contract funds an integrated test team to assist the Korean shipyard in performing installation and testing of the Aegis Combat System.

According to Lockheed’s Web site, the Aegis Weapons Defense system is the world’s most capable naval defense system and the sea-based element of the United States’ Ballistic Missile Defense System.

They system can simultaneously attack land targets, submarines and surface ships, while automatically implementing defenses to protect the fleet against aircraft and missiles, according to the Web site.