The U.S. Air Force has given the Lockheed Martin team an "exceptional" rating and a $2.8 million award fee for its management of the Integrated Space Command and Control (ISC2) program during the critical start-up period.

Lockheed Martin and its teammates won the contract in September 2000. They will integrate and modernize air, missile and space command and control (C2) systems for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) at Cheyenne Mountain into a common, interoperable command and control infrastructure. The 15-year contract has a potential value of $1.5 billion.

After conducting a detailed evaluation of the program, Air Force officials determined the overall performance was exceptional, a remarkably high evaluation for an initial award fee period. "Your team has set an impressive standard of performance and has rapidly implemented a new business paradigm," Air Force officials said in a letter. "The near-flawless transition, including the transfer of thousands of software and hardware assets to your responsibility is reflected in our evaluation," said officials.

The technical requirements roadmap for the system's architecture infrastructure was established during this three-month period, and management of nearly 40 legacy command and control systems was transitioned to the ISC2 operation with no degradation in mission integrity.

"We are, of course, pleased with the progress to date. The excellent working relationship we have with the Air Force and the warfighting commands on this program has enabled us to gain considerable momentum," said John James, vice president at Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, and program manager for ISC2. "The initial work of establishing technical and programmatic requirements was extremely critical to the program, and now that it's done, we're proceeding forward and ready to implement the technical solution."

The ISC2 modernization replaces the Air Force's collection of older, stand-alone systems, which function well individually, but are not seamlessly coordinated to give users comprehensive command and control capabilities and access to information. Implementing Lockheed Martin's Information Superiority Architecture, ISC2 will dramatically improve interoperability among air, missile and space defense systems, allowing information and data to be shared among those and other command and control systems. Commanders will have enhanced capability that synchronizes their command and control operations, providing for faster response to enemy actions and improved strategic and tactical coordination among forces.

ISC2 will be a "virtual command center," enabling Information Superiority at all echelons by providing warfighters a common operational picture of the global battlefield derived from shared, real-time data that is available anytime and to any location in the world for specified users.

The Corporation's lead enterprise for Information Superiority, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems serves customers including U.S. and international defense and civil government agencies. Mission Systems employs approximately 2,600 at facilities in Gaithersburg, Colorado Springs, and Santa Maria, Calif., and is a business unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., 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, visit the website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ .

To learn more about Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, visit the website at: http://www.lmco.com/missionsystems .

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Mission Systems