Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas has been awarded an $8.1 million contract to produce two High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers for the United States Marine Corps Technology Demonstration program.

The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command is the contracting agency. The launchers will be produced at the company's facilities in Dallas, Texas, and in Camden, Ark. Delivery of the launchers is expected to be completed in calendar year '02.

The two HIMARS launchers will be evaluated by the Marines during a two- year user evaluation program. The addition of these two HIMARS launchers into the Army's HIMARS engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) program brings the total number of launchers to be produced to eight. The original $65 million HIMARS EMD contract award to Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas was in December 1999, and called for the production of six HIMARS launchers.

Low rate initial production on the HIMARS program is scheduled to begin in FY'03, with the first unit equipped scheduled for FY'05. A Milestone III decision for full-rate production is scheduled for the third quarter of FY'05.

HIMARS is a highly mobile artillery rocket system offering Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) firepower on a wheeled chassis. The C-130 transportable HIMARS can carry a single six-pack of MLRS rockets, or one Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile, on the Army's new FMTV 5-ton truck.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas developed and fabricated four operational HIMARS prototypes as part the Army's Rapid Force Projection Initiative Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration contract, which was awarded to the company in March of 1996. Three of the wheeled vehicles (a platoon) are in testing at the Army's 18th Airborne Corps Artillery. The fourth vehicle is being maintained by Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas for testing and evaluation.

HIMARS will be able to fire the entire MLRS family of munitions. In August, HIMARS completed a successful series of forced-entry scenarios at Fort Bragg, N.C. At the completion of the exercise, more than 20 Reduced-Range Practice Rockets had been fired.

The HIMARS fire control system, electronics and communications units are interchangeable with the MLRS M270A1 launcher, and the crew and training are the same. Because of its size, HIMARS can be deployed into areas previously inaccessible to the larger aircraft required to transport the standard MLRS launcher. It also retains the self-loading, autonomous features that have made MLRS the premier rocket artillery system in the world.

Located in Dallas, Tex.; Orlando, Fla.; and Sunnyvale, Calif., Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control develops, manufactures and supports advanced combat, missile, rocket and space systems. The company is organized in seven program/mission areas: Strike Weapons, Air Defense, Anti-Armor, Naval Munitions, Fire Control and Sensors, Fire Support and Product Development.

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 services.

For additional information on Lockheed Martin, visit http://www.lockheedmartin.com/.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas