Space

Lockheed Martin and Spectrum Astro Form Partnership to Build the Next Generation Global Positioning Satellite System, GPS III

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA, May 7th, 2003 -- Lockheed Martin and Spectrum Astro today announced a partnership agreement to pursue the development of GPS III, the next generation global positioning satellite system. This team is intensely focused on meeting the government's challenging requirement of this critical asset, and is committed to providing a solution that includes hyper-accurate positioning, velocity and timing data with confidence and security. "Lockheed Martin brings a wealth of experience and advanced technology to the table, as well as expertise in integrating large, complex systems. The outcome of this partnership will be a team the government can rely on to provide an incredibly more capable GPS system," said John Sundquist, Vice President of Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems.

"We created this team because we realized that the combined team could do a better job than either company alone, " said Dave Thompson, President of Spectrum Astro. "We employ an aggressive and modern approach to building space hardware. Our approach, coupled with Lockheed Martin's proven expertise, creates a compelling, powerful team to address the critical needs of our nation."

GPS III will address the challenging military transformational and civil needs across the globe, including advanced anti-jam capabilities, improved system security and accuracy, and reliability. The new satellite system will enhance space-based navigation and performance and set a new world standard for positioning and timing services. The team selected to meet this challenge will provide system and sustaining engineering, satellite development and production, Control Segment upgrades, and continuous research and development for this evolutionary system.

Spectrum Astro, headquartered in Gilbert, Arizona, is a privately held, rapidly-growing high technology company, specializing in the design, development, integration, testing, and production of high performance space-based satellite systems and subsystems. For more information, visit http://www.spectrumastro.com

Amy Griffith-Adelman, 610-354-2547
Lockheed Martin
Amy.e.Griffith@lmco.com

Mike Greenwood, 480-892-8200
Spectrum Astro
Mike.greenwood@specastro.com