First Successful Test Firing on Target for Lockheed Martin Laser Guidance System
ARCHBALD, PA, November 13th, 2000 -- Lockheed Martin announced today that its laser guidance system was successfully dropped at the U.S. Navy's China Lake facility in California. The system, planned to be bid for the Paveway II GBU-16, was tested as part of a Lockheed Martin-funded "pre-qualify-to-bid" program for a request-for-proposal (RFP) worth $64 million expected to be awarded by the U.S. Air Force in March, 2001. The Air Force contract will require approximately 4,000 guidance kits, consisting of the front end guidance system, the Computer Control Group (CCG), plus the Air Foil Group (AFG), which includes the flight stability fins on the back of the Paveway II kit. "We are planning to make 20 successful drops between November and January and are delighted this first one went so smoothly," observed Bill Abrams, director, laser guidance systems. "We've been working on this program since 1988, and today's events demonstrate Lockheed Martin's commitment to bringing this system to our customers."
"We made a commitment to the Navy and Air Force to pay our own way to qualify for this competition," said Mike Smith, president of Lockheed Martin's Radar Systems business. "It feels great to deliver on that promise."
Twenty-six countries including the U.S. use laser guidance systems. They were used extensively in Viet Nam, Operation Desert Storm, Bosnia and the 1999 conflict in Kosovo. Since 1990, Lockheed Martin has developed and produced over 16,000 laser guided training rounds for the U.S. Navy and customers in seven countries.
Lockheed Martin's unit built and tested for Paveway applications derives key technology and components from the training rounds, while meeting live weapon and interface specifications on F/A-18 aircraft.
A leader in the design, development and integration of radar systems, vessel traffic management, simulation and training systems, and other complex electronic systems, Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Radar Systems serves customers including all branches of the U.S. armed forces, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Transportation and State, and defense and transportation departments of countries on six continents. NE&SS-Radar Systems employs over 2,000 people with facilities in the U.S. and three other countries, and is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Ellen Mitchell, office 315-456-3296;
E-mail ellen.mitchell@lmco.com
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