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Lockheed Martin UK Submits Major Proposal For Next Phase Of Navy's Merlin Helicopter Programme

HAVANT, United Kingdom, November 10th, 2004 -- Lockheed Martin UK Ltd submitted its proposal for the next phase of the Royal Navy’s Merlin helicopter programme; the Merlin Capability Sustainment Plus (Merlin CSP) programme, which is aimed at securing Merlin’s capabilities into the foreseeable future.

The Merlin CSP programme aims to solve future obsolescence issues and provide a significant reduction in whole life costs. This will be achieved through investment in new technology which, while primarily aimed at solving obsolescence, also brings with it improvements in capability with benefits such as an open computing architecture system with processing speeds and memory storage more than 250 times greater than current systems.

The proposal is the culmination of a successful assessment phase of nearly 18 months which has brought together the strengths of Lockheed Martin as prime contractor and lead systems integrator, with the world-class helicopter platform skills of AgustaWestland to create a strategic business alliance.

Ron Christenson, group managing director of Lockheed Martin UK – Integrated Systems said: “Merlin is at the core of our business in the UK and we are committed to taking this sophisticated multi-mission weapons system into the future. Our focus on best value for the customer throughout the assessment phase provides the MoD with confidence that a reliable, supportable weapon system is developed and delivered within affordable time and price constraints.”

A competitive subcontractor selection process is a key factor in Lockheed Martin’s ‘whole system’ approach as the prime contractor. By focusing on every level of the contract from procurement to critical support factors such as intellectual property rights and support costs, Lockheed Martin UK will provide the Royal Navy with the best overall value through each phase of the programme’s lifecycle.

Mr Christenson added: “Our contractor selection approach balances the use of domestic industrial resources and technology transfer, and builds on existing Merlin Mk1 partnerships where appropriate. It is anticipated that Merlin CSP will sustain more than 1400 high technology jobs in the UK. Additionally the domestic technology advances on Merlin CSP will allow UK industry to export competitively to other markets.”

Lockheed Martin UK, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a leader in systems integration working on major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence, civil and commercial sectors. In the UK, Lockheed Martin has annual sales in the range of £400-600 million working with more than 75 business partners. Lockheed Martin employs approximately 1,000 people across the UK at facilities including London, Havant, Southampton, Yeovil, Swindon, Hertford, Reading, Bristol and Cornwall.

Lockheed Martin UK: Jeremy Greaves, on: +44(0)2392 44 3977 (mob) +44(0)7887 506338 email: jeremy.greaves@lmco.com or Chris Trippick +44(0)207 798 2856 (mob) +44 (0)7905 356 646 or email: chris.trippick@lmco.com