Lockheed Martin Corporation today announced the appointment of David A. Kier as vice president and managing director-missile defense.

In this new position, Kier will be responsible for all aspects of Lockheed Martin's relationship with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and will have leadership responsibility for all elements of the Corporation's ongoing missile defense programs. Lockheed Martin is prime contractor or a significant subcontractor on 10 major U.S. missile defense programs in land, sea, air and space regimes. The Corporation also leads a six-company "national team" that is executing the MDA's Battle Management/Command and Control/ Communications (BM/C2/C) program, which provides an operational framework for the fully integrated ballistic missile defense system envisioned by the government.

"Lockheed Martin currently is a leader in missile defense solutions for both U.S. and international customers, with system and sensor capabilities operating on land, at sea, in the air and in space, and with programs and business opportunities distributed among multiple organizations within the Corporation," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vance D. Coffman. "By designating Dave as the overall leader of our missile defense activities, we will improve coordination, enhance collaboration and provide a single point of accountability for our Missile Defense Agency customer."

Kier, who previously was vice president, advanced systems and BM/C2/C program manager, joined Lockheed Martin in October 2001 following a distinguished 35-year career in national service. Kier held a variety of technical management and program leadership positions with the military services, civil agencies and intelligence services. From 1997 until his retirement from the federal government in August 2001, Kier served concurrently as the Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space. He is a U.S. Army veteran and graduate of Washington and Jefferson College, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in physics.

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.

For additional information on Lockheed Martin, visit the web site at: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ .

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin