Lockheed Martin's Sleek, Stealth Joint Air-To-Surface Cruise Missile To Roll Off Line In Alabama
ORLANDO, FL, April 24th, 2000 -- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control- Orlando will unveil its Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) during ceremonies Tuesday, April 25 at the company's Pike County Operations facility in Troy, Alabama. The JASSM is Lockheed Martin's premier autonomous, long-range, conventional air-to-ground precision strike missile. Slated to participate in the "roll out" ceremony are:
* Alabama Congressman, Terry Everett;
* Alabama State Senator, Wendell Mitchell;
* Joseph Diamond, Air Force Program Executive for Weapons;
* U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command headquarters commander, Gen. John Jumper;
* Lockheed Martin executive vice president, Systems Integration, Bob Coutts;
* JASSM Joint Systems Program Office director, Terry Little;
* Lockheed Martin JASSM program director, Larry Lawson;
Attendees include:
* Undersecretary of the Navy, Charles Nemfakos;
* U.S. Air Force director of global power programs, Maj. Gen. Raymond P. Huot;
* U.S. Air Force director of combat weapon systems, Brig. Gen. Randall Bigum;
* U.S. Air Force program executive officer for weapons programs, Joe Diamond;
* Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) president, Jim Berry;
* Lockheed Martin MFC-Orlando president, Stan Arthur;
* Lockheed Martin MFC-Orlando strike weapons vice president, Dick Caime;
* Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations plant manager, Randy Stevenson.
Lockheed Martin's sleek, stealthy JASSM is designed to destroy high-value, well-defended fixed and relocatable targets. Flown aboard U.S. Air Force and Navy fighters and bombers, the system uses advanced stealth technology, state-of-the-art mission planning, precise guidance, and lethal target penetration technology.
The JASSM, launched from U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft, successfully passed its first unpowered (August 11, 1999) and engine-powered (November 23, 1999) test flights. "The success of the first powered JASSM flight test is a significant milestone," Joe Diamond, the Air Force's Program Executive Officer for Weapons noted. "Although more testing remains, the test raises our confidence that we will deliver a very capable weapon." Lockheed Martin executives are pleased with JASSM's overall performance and say these milestones clearly reflect the hard work and professionalism of JASSM's Air Force-Navy-Lockheed Martin team. "We took on some enormous technical challenges on this program, and we did it in a wholly new acquisition environment." said Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control strike weapons vice president, Dick Caime.
"The system has demonstrated superior performance and is a model technology and acquisition reform program," said Terry Little, from his Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. office.
The U. S. Air Force and Navy selected Lockheed Martin in April 1998 to develop and build the JASSM weapon system. The program entered the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase November 1998. Development Tests/Operational Tests (DT/OT) will start this fall and Initial Operational Tests & Evaluation (IOT&E) are expected to start in early 2002.
Plant manager Randy Stevenson says that Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Pike County Operations employees are excited about JASSM and proud of the first EMD production representative unit successfully delivered from its Alabama facility.
Located in Dallas, TX, and Orlando, FL., Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, a world leader in electro-optics, smart munitions, advanced combat, missile, rocket and space systems, is an operating element of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration business unit based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Nettie Johnson, 407-356-5351
e-mail nettie.r.johnson@lmco.com
Andrea Lawrence, 407-356-2211
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