Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has received a contract totaling $326.6 million from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) for continued production of the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile.

The new Low-Rate Initial Production contract is for 72 PAC-3 Missiles, 26 Missile Round Trainers, 6 Telemetry Kits, 6 Launcher Modification Kits and 9 Fire Solution Computers. Including earlier LRIP contracts awarded in December 1999 and May and December 2000, Lockheed Martin has received U.S. Army PAC-3 Missile production orders totaling more than $850 million.

The delivery of all missiles and other hardware will be completed by February 2005. Production of all equipment will take place at the company's manufacturing facilities in Dallas and Lufkin, Texas, and the new PAC-3 Missile All-Up Round facility in Camden, Ark. The first production PAC-3 Missiles were delivered to the Army in September 2001.

"The PAC-3 Missile is the world's most effective hit-to-kill air defense missile," said Mike Trotsky, vice president - Air Defense Programs for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "We continue to see the robustness of PAC-3 in ongoing operational tests. As PAC-3 Missile production ramps up and economies of scale are introduced, we are confident that PAC-3 will become the world's most cost-effective hit-to-kill air defense missile."

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is the prime contractor responsible for the PAC-3 Missile segment upgrade, which consists of the PAC-3 Missile, missile canisters, the Fire Solution Computer (FCS) and the Enhanced Launcher Electronics System (ELES).

The PAC-3 Missile is a high velocity, hit-to-kill missile and is the next generation Patriot missile being developed to provide increased capability against advanced theater ballistic missile, cruise missile and hostile aircraft. The PAC-3 Missile kills incoming targets by direct, body-to-body impact. The PAC-3 Missiles, when deployed in a Patriot battery, will significantly increase the Patriot system's firepower, since 16 PAC-3 Missiles load-out on a Patriot launcher, compared with four Patriot PAC-2 missiles.

Employing more than 8,500 people, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with additional base operations in Orlando, Fla., and manufacturing and assembly facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif., Chelmsford, Mass., Camden, Ark., Horizon City and Lufkin, Texas, Ocala, Fla., White Sands Missile Range, N.M., and Troy, Ala. The company is a business unit of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Bethesda, Md.

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.

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

For information on Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, visit our website: http://www.missilesandfirecontrol.com/ .

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control