When Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) reports earnings Tuesday morning before markets open, the world’s largest defense contractor is likely to be looking ahead rather than behind. The reason: the U.S. Air Force is about to announce the winner of a contract worth an estimated $41.7 billion for a new Long-Range Strike – Bomber (LRSB, or B-3), a competition in which Lockheed has teamed with Boeing against competitor Northrop Grumman.

Northrop was recently awarded a $3.2 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to upgrade the Air Force’s Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft (drone, to you and me) and the Lockheed-built U-2, a manned surveillance aircraft, is set to be retired by 2019. The U.S. Congress has its doubts about the Global Hawk, but right now Lockheed’s U-2, which first flew in 1955, appears headed for the scrapheap of history.

Lockheed also lost a $6.7 billion contract to Oshkosh to replace the Humvee with a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). Lockheed has appealed the decision and awaits a decision.

In September the company’s $9 billion acquisition of United Technologies’ Sikorsky helicopter division received approval from regulators in the United States and elsewhere, and the deal could close before the end of October. Anticipating the approval, Lockheed boosted its quarterly dividend by 10%, from $1.50 to $1.65, to be paid to shareholders of record on November 27, 2015.

As for the third-quarter, Lockheed is expected to report earnings per share of $2.72 on revenues of $11.14 billion, compared with EPS of $2.76 and revenues of $11.11 billion in the same quarter last year.

Lockheed Martin stock traded down about 0.2% in the noon hour on Monday, at $209.44 in a 52-week range of $166.28 to $216.27. The consensus price target on the stock is $225.53.

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