Military

Lockheed Martin Qualifies to Meet Navy Laser Guided Bomb Requirement; Gets Supplemental Order from U.S. Navy

ARCHBALD, PA, January 2nd, 2002 -- The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin an $80 million contract to produce laser guided bomb kits. The announcement follows the Navy's determination last month that Lockheed Martin is fully qualified to build the Paveway II GBU-16 kits. The new order is in addition to a $9 million Navy contract received in early 2001, as well as previous contract modifications to accelerate production and increase the number of kits. Production will begin immediately.

"We are very pleased about this qualification and the additional orders especially since we will be providing support to our country's war fighters," said Dr. Dennis Beres, general manager of the Archbald facility. "When we were awarded the contract early in 2001, it was the first time since the inception of the Paveway II program that a second supplier was chosen to make laser guidance kits. Having two U.S. suppliers of kits will mean significant costs savings for American taxpayers and a second reliable source of a product that is much in demand. We will dedicate ourselves to making the highest quality product as quickly as possible to meet our customers' current and future needs," added Beres.

Each guidance kit consists of a Computer Control Group (CCG), which is the front-end guidance system, plus an Air Foil Group (AFG), which includes the flight stability fins on the back of the Paveway II kit. The kits significantly improve the accuracy of gravity weapons - often referred to as "dumb bombs" - thereby reducing collateral damage and risks to U.S. and allied ground forces.

Since 1990, Lockheed Martin has delivered to the U.S. Navy and customers in seven countries over 16,000 laser guided training rounds, which are used to train aircrews in place of more expensive laser guided bombs. The Paveway guidance kits built and tested by Lockheed Martin draw on key technologies and components from the training rounds but meet more stringent live-weapon and aircraft interface specifications.

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 (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 over 3,000 people with facilities in the U.S. and three other countries, and is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products and services. The corporation's core businesses are systems integration, space, aeronautics, and technology services.

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