On Friday, October 26, Lockheed Martin received a $18.9 billion contract for the Joint Strike Fighter to move the program into the next phase, System Development and Demonstration (SDD).

"We've received our contract, we now have funding, our government customer has established an aggressive set of program milestones, and our team is off and running -- the SDD phase has begun," said Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin JSF program.

Since contract award, Lockheed Martin has also received its formal out- brief on Tuesday by Paul Schneider, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, and members of the JSF Source Selection Evaluation team. The government team included Major General Mike Hough, USMC, former JSF Program Director; Brig. Gen. Jack Hudson, USAF, JSF Program Director and senior JSF Program Office (JSFPO) management and Integrated Project Team (IPT) leads.

Details of the out-brief have been designated "Source Selection Sensitive" and therefore proprietary to the Source Selection Team.

"We were asked not to release the details of the out-brief," said Dain Hancock, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin and president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, "and we will certainly uphold this request from our customer. In summary, though, it was overwhelmingly clear that the Lockheed Martin Team solution was evaluated across the board as the best choice. The Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman-BAE SYSTEMS team can take great pride in the fact that this was a convincing win against a great competitor. It was obvious that this best total solution is what won the competition."

Hancock added that, "Notwithstanding the decisive conclusion by the government regarding the Lockheed Martin Team offering, we will be speaking with our competitor, Boeing, about capabilities from their proposal that they could possibly bring to the program to enhance the value of the JSF team. We take very seriously our responsibility to now deliver the total best-value solution. That's a commitment we've made to the U.S. and U.K. governments, as well as to the taxpayers."

The out-brief followed Friday's announcement by Dr. James Roche, secretary of the Air Force, that "on the basis of strengths, weaknesses and degrees of risk of the program it is our conclusion, joined in by our colleagues from the United Kingdom, that the Lockheed Martin team is the winner of the Joint Strike Fighter program on a best-value basis."

With the SDD phase firmly under way, Lockheed Martin will now be working closely with the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office to solidify plans that will take the company through this phase of the program, with first flight planned for 48 months, and first aircraft delivery planned for 2008.

"We have a lot of work to do between now and then, and our international team is pleased to have begun," said Burbage.

The Joint Strike Fighter program involves the production of an initial 22 aircraft in the program's $25 billion System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase formerly know as Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD).

The total program is valued at approximately $200 billion and will be a cornerstone of future defense capability for the United States, the United Kingdom and their allied partners. Plans call for more than 3,000 aircraft over the life of the program. The Joint Strike Fighter is designed to replace the A-10, the AV-8 Harrier, F-16 and the F/A-18.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $15 billion, global aerospace and defense company with its worldwide headquarters in Los Angeles. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in defense and commercial electronics, systems integration, information technology and non-nuclear shipbuilding and systems. With 80,000 employees and operations in 44 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.

BAE SYSTEMS, headquartered in London, is a truly global systems, defense and aerospace company. BAE SYSTEMS employs more than 100,000 people and has annual sales of some 12 billion pounds. The company offers a global capability in air, sea, land and space with a world-class prime contracting ability supported by a range of key skills. BAE SYSTEMS designs and manufactures civil and military aircraft, surface ships, submarines, space systems, radar, avionics, communications, electronics, guided weapon systems and a range of other defense products.

Lockheed Martin Corporation is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and 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. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a world leader in the design, development, systems integration, production and support of military aircraft. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, its customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world.

For photos and information on the JSF, visit: http://www.lmaeronautics.com/

For government information on the JSF program, visit http://www.jast.mil/

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

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company