5,000th Longbow Hellfire Missile Rolls Off Production Line
ORLANDO, FL, March 7th, 2002 -- Longbow Limited Liability Company (LBL), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corporation's Missiles and Fire Control unit (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Electronic Systems sector, recently completed the 5,000th production round of the Longbow Hellfire missile (AGM-114L). Final assembly, test and delivery of the round was performed by Lockheed Martin's Pike County Operations missile plant in Troy, Ala. LBL is under contract with the U.S. Army and the United Kingdom to deliver more than 13,000 Longbow missiles, with additional orders anticipated via foreign military sales.
"We are proud to achieve this significant 5,000th milestone," said Tom Goslin, vice president of Anti-Armor Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "The missile is the 'business end' of the lethal Longbow Weapon System that makes the AH-64D the world's most formidable attack helicopter."
The Longbow Hellfire missile, a "fire-and-forget" weapon that can be locked on target before or after launch, provides significant standoff range from targets without exposing the Longbow Apache crew to counter-fire. The 108-pound missile has a range of eight kilometers and is effective in adverse weather. It is an integral part of the AH-64D Apache advanced attack helicopter.
"We are particularly proud of the missile's fire-and-forget capability because that helps bring our warfighters home safely" said Emmitt Gibson, vice president of Precision Munitions, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems.
Full-rate production of the Longbow missile is realizing a monthly delivery of over 200 rounds through year 2005. The missile is built by the combined resources of the Lockheed Martin facilities in Orlando and Ocala, Fla. and Troy, Ala.-- and Northrop Grumman facilities in Huntsville, Ala. and Baltimore, Md. Guidance and sensor sub-assemblies are built at Northrop Grumman facilities in Baltimore and Huntsville and at Lockheed Martin's facility in Ocala. Final assembly and test of the Longbow guidance section takes place at Northrop Grumman's Huntsville facility.
Employing more than 8,500 people, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with additional base operations in Orlando, Fla., and manufacturing and assembly facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif., Chelmsford, Mass., Camden, Ark., Horizon City and Lufkin, Texas, Ocala, Fla., White Sands Missile Range, N.M., and Troy, Ala. The company is a business unit of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Bethesda, Md.
Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector, headquartered in Baltimore, is a world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of defense electronics and systems, precision weapons, airspace management systems, space systems, marine systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems. Electronic Systems' Land Combat Systems division, with a major facility in Huntsville, produces the Longbow Guidance Section at plants in Huntsville, Baltimore, and at the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal.
Nettie Johnson, 407-356-5351
e-mail nettie.r.johnson@lmco.com
Doug Cantwell, 410-765-9332
e-mail douglas_p_cantwell@mail.northgrum.com
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