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Lockheed Martin Receives Contract for Helicopter Missile Launcher

ORLANDO, FL, February 5th, 2004 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has received a $3.2 million U.S. Army contract to supply an additional 92 M299 helicopter-mounted missile launchers for U.S. and international forces. The order, from the Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL, represents the final option in a year 2000 agreement and, when completed, will represent a total delivery of 1,697 M299 launchers.

The new order includes 34 launcher units for the U.S. Army and 58 units for two Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, Israel and Kuwait. Deliveries are scheduled to run through the third quarter of 2005.

The launcher is produced for Lockheed Martin by Marvin Engineering in Inglewood, CA. Lockheed Martin produces the electronics at its facility in Ocala, FL. This order will extend M299 production activity in Ocala until late 2004 and in Inglewood until late 2005.

Lockheed Martin took over production of the M299 in 2000 after winning a competitive procurement conducted by the U.S. Army in 1999.

"This order reflects the continuing confidence our Army and international customers place in our M299 launcher," said Mark Stenger, director of the Air-to-Ground Missile Systems program area at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "This all-digital 'smart' launcher can carry and fire any combination of Hellfire II and Longbow Hellfire missiles, giving the Apache and other attack helicopters the ability to engage a wide range of targets in a single sortie.

"The M299 also accepts the new Joint Common Missile (JCM) for which a competition is now under way," Stenger continued. "The experience we have gained as prime contractor of the M299 and the performance our launcher has already demonstrated on multiple platforms provides a low-risk integration path for JCM. The M299 provides interoperability with Hellfire II and Longbow, allowing JCM to be seamlessly integrated into the arsenal."

"Having successfully integrated Hellfire on to every leading attack helicopter in the U.S. and Allied fleets, as well as almost all the mission-critical subsystems on the Apache, Cobra and Comanche, Lockheed Martin brings a unique whole systems thinking approach to JCM integration on to rotary-wing platforms," said Rick Edwards, director of Tactical Missiles, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

Jennifer Allen, 407-356-5351
e-mail jennifer.l.allen@lmco.com