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$47 Million Lockheed Martin Contract Will Upgrade Northern Hemisphere Early Warning System

SYRACUSE, NY, July 9th, 2001 -- Lockheed Martin today announced that it won a $47 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the Lockheed Martin AN/FPS-117 radars that support the Atmospheric Early Warning System. These long-range surveillance radar systems are located at 33 sites stretching across the extreme perimeters of Canada and Alaska as well as Iceland, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. An engineering facility at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, supports the radar sites. The U.S. Air Force's Atmospheric Early Warning System uses the AN/FPS-117 radar systems to provide military aircraft identification and commercial air traffic surveillance for up to 250 nautical miles. Under the new contract, Lockheed Martin will provide Radar Interrogator Set (RIS) systems, better known as beacon sub-systems, to upgrade the capabilities of the radars. The beacon sub-system communicates with the transponders on aircraft to provide detailed information on the plane, which is used for air traffic control and military reporting.

"These upgrades to the Atmospheric Early Warning System will help the U.S. Air Force increase the performance capability of its current systems, while also reducing maintenance requirements when compared to the current beacon subsystems." said Ed Lane, director of radar product support for Lockheed Martin. "The overall system performance will improve and the life-cycle cost significantly reduced to better support the U.S. Air Force and FAA mission."

Because of a built-in capability to control operations and perform diagnostics from a remote location, most of the AN/FPS-117 radars at these sites operate completely unattended. The upgrade also will deliver that capability for the beacon sub-systems, so they can be diagnosed and controlled remotely from regional air traffic centers in the U.S., Canada and Iceland.

"We currently do not have the capability to control the beacon remotely," said Mark Sage, program manager, U.S. Air Force. "These upgrades will allow us to monitor and change the parameters of the radar systems using software from a remote location. It also will reduce costs associated with travel and maintenance."

The first of the radar system installations will take place near Fairbanks, Alaska next summer. Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems (NE&SS)-Radar Systems in Syracuse, N.Y., will provide system engineering, sub-system integration and software modifications. All the installations are scheduled to be complete by August 2006.

A leader in the design, development and integration of radar systems, vessel traffic management, simulation and training systems, and other complex electronic systems, NE&SS-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 more than 2,000 people at its Syracuse, N.Y., headquarters and is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Media Contact: Kerri Donaleski, 315-456-3328;
e-mail: kerri.a.donaleski@lmco.com