Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, prime contractor on the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System, has selected its production facility in Pike County (Troy), Ala., as the missile final assembly and test site for the $3.8 billion THAAD weapon system.

Facilitization will happen in two phases, starting with the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase beginning in 2003, and the construction of a 39,000-square-foot, $8.6 million state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the THAAD program. Personnel staffing and training will ramp up at the Pike County facility beginning in calendar year 2004, with the first early development unit work beginning in 2004. An additional 15,500 square feet of administration and storage space will be added in 2004.

The second phase, Full Rate Production, will begin in 2007, with the construction of a 20,600-square-foot, $5 million addition to the Assembly and Test building, and 18,500 additional square feet for administration and storage. The Pike County site, which currently employs about 160, will produce the assembled THAAD missile in a field-deployable canister. Over the life of the program, more than 150 people will be added to the Troy staff to build the THAAD system. In total, over the next 10-13 years, Lockheed Martin expects the Pike County Operations to grow by over 500 employees to accommodate not only THAAD production, but increased production for other products built there.

Currently, the Pike County operation encompasses 3,863 acres and 200,000 square feet of building space, the Pike County Operations performs final assembly, test and storage of missiles including the Hellfire II and Longbow Hellfire antitank missiles; the Javelin antitank missile; and the AGM- 142 air-to-surface missile. The facility has also built the missile for the Patriot (PAC-2) air defense system, and is scheduled to build the U.S. Marine Corps' Predator missile system and the 21st century Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). Pike County Operations has become known as the Lockheed Martin Center of Excellence for Strike Weapons.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control chose its Pike County Operations due to its outstanding performance building quality products, as well as its attention to cost-control and manufacturing detail on several other Department of Defense programs currently under production at that location.

"I am excited that the THAAD missile will be produced in such an outstanding production facility as the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control facility in Pike County, Ala., along with the other state-of-the-art weapon systems that are currently produced there," said Colonel Patrick O'Reilly, THAAD Project Manager for the U.S. Army. "We are confident that this facility will meet the requirements of the urgently needed THAAD system that will provide critical protection to future generations of soldiers and our allies."

"I am proud to say that Alabama has turned the corner, and we are headed in the right direction. In the past two years we have built a new Alabama committed to education and good jobs," said Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. "The decision by Lockheed Martin to produce the THAAD missile defense system in Troy is a tremendous win for Alabama. It means that more Alabamians will have the opportunity to benefit from high-skilled and high-paying jobs that will improve the quality of life for their families."

"Since its inception, the state of Alabama has worked in partnership with Lockheed Martin in establishing a world class Pike County Operation," said Jim Berry, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

Lockheed Martin and its predecessor companies have had a strong business relationship with the state of Alabama for the past 37 years through the presence of its Huntsville operations. In 1991, Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations selected Troy and Pike County as the location for manufacturing, final assembly and test operations for many of its missile programs.

As a result of strong state and local partnership over the years, Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations has amassed a string of national, state and industry awards for production, quality, security and environment/safety excellence beginning in 1995. It earned the Alabama Quality Award for Excellence in Continuous Productivity and Quality Improvement -- a distinction it received for the second time as the #1 manufacturing operation of quality products in the State of Alabama. Also in 2000, Pike County Operations received the Alabama Team Showcase Award for continuous improvement in employee involvement and team building, and was the winner of the Lockheed Martin Environment, Safety and Health (ESH) Excellence Award. Other awards include the prestigious Defense Investigative Service Cogswell Award, Alabama's Solid Waste Reduction and Recycle Award, the Business Council of Alabama Safety Award, and the U.S. Government Daedalian Awards -- the highest awards given by the Army to product teams. Pike County Operations also earned Industry Week's "America's Best Plants" Award in 1997.

In November 1999, to address the state's regional workforce advancement and training initiatives, Governor Don Siegelman and the Alabama Legislature approved $1 million in funding for Lockheed Martin and Troy State University to establish a Technology Learning Center near Pike County Operations. "This technology learning center is an example of Governor Siegelman's vision and the State of Alabama's recognition of the importance of public and private sector partnerships to the growth and vitality of the state," added Berry. Dedication and utilization of this new facility occurred in June 2000.

THAAD Program Overview and Description

The THAAD system will defend soldiers and local populations from enemy launched short and medium range theater ballistic missiles operating in the lower reaches of space and within the Earth's atmosphere. The ability to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles at high altitudes and/or long distances from the target allows THAAD to provide protection of several hundred square miles of assets against weapons of mass destruction. The THAAD system overlays the Army's PATRIOT air defense system to provided an additional layer of protection while also working with future Navy and Air Force missile defense systems.

The THAAD weapon system consists of Missile Launchers, Missiles, Battle Management/Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (BMC3I) units and Radars. These elements work in concert to detect, identify, assign and destroy incoming theater ballistic missiles. Operated by Army air defense soldiers, THAAD provides an umbrella of protection for our soldiers and population centers.

The primary objectives of the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase are to translate the most promising design approach into a stable, interoperable, producible, supportable and cost effective design; to validate the manufacturing or production process; and to demonstrate system capabilities through testing. Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), up to 40 missiles a year, is currently planned to occur around 2006, with full production, up to 320 missiles a year, currently planned to start in 2008.

THAAD EMD engineering work is being performed at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Huntsville, Ala., facilities under the program direction of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas.

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.

Government management of the THAAD program is provided by the THAAD Project Office, U.S. Army PEO Air and Missile Defense, Huntsville, Ala., and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO), Washington, D.C.

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

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control