As part of Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems' (M&DS) business strategy to take intellectual property to the commercial marketplace, the Company launched FltWinds(TM), a unique flight and weather information and decision support system for Airline Operation Centers (AOC).

The announcement was made today at the Air Traffic Control Association annual conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

FltWinds(TM) combines sophisticated aviation weather processing and forecasting tools with an advanced aircraft tracking and display capability. It tracks all weather data and flight plans and removes all flight-relevant information. Automatic alerts are used to bring significant changes to the attention of airline operation personnel. The personnel can then analyze the information and make the decisions they need to in their day-to-day operations.

"FltWinds(TM) is an exciting and versatile new system that will help the airlines plan and manage their operations better, increase fleet utilization and efficiency, and reduce operating costs," said Marc Hansen, president, Lockheed Martin M&DS.

The system is currently being tested in the Continental Airlines Operations Center in Houston, Texas, with a sale expected by the end of the year. Several other airlines have expressed an interest in FltWinds(TM).

Hansen said the Company plans to market FltWinds(TM) to U.S. and international major airline carriers as well as to U.S. and Allied Military command and control centers.

  Some of FltWinds(TM) features include:

  --    Aviation weather data management.
  --    Advanced aviation weather forecasting and products.
  --    Weather management and alerting services.
  --    Flight tracking and following with display and alerting services.
  --    Sophisticated mapping and display tools.
  --    Flight and weather information combined in a common graphical user
        interface display.

"Lockheed Martin M&DS is focused on helping our government and commercial customers be competitive in their market place," said Hansen. "We take enormous pride in building strong relationships with our customers so we also can focus on what we do best and our customers can focus on what they do best."

Management & Data Systems has been a leader in systems integration, systems engineering, software development and program management in support of vital national systems for more than 30 years. M&DS is a $1.5B unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation with approximately 7,500 employees at facilities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Colorado and the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, 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.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin