Lockheed Martin today announced that it will conduct final assembly of its Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) in Courtland, AL, if selected by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to proceed as prime contractor on the program.

The KEI program is currently in the Concept Design stage, with Lockheed Martin and team member Boeing working under a $10 million study contract awarded by MDA in March 2003. The program's schedule calls for MDA to select a single contractor to perform the Development and Test phase of the program in late 2003.

"After a serious evaluation of the Lockheed Martin production facilities throughout the United States, we determined that our Courtland facility would be ideal for the production of the Kinetic Energy Interceptor," said Ed Squires, senior vice president - Air & Missile Defense for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "We are committed to building on our presence in Alabama due to the high quality of talent available and the positive business environment, which ultimately benefits our customers."

The Courtland facility employs approximately 45 people who support the Boost Vehicle Plus (BV-Plus) program. Lockheed Martin currently employs more than 1,200 people throughout the state of Alabama.

The Kinetic Energy Interceptor program will provide needed additional capability to the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System. By engaging ballistic missiles in the boost and ascent stages of flight, the KEI will provide the nation with the capability of defeating future sophisticated threats before their payloads are released.

Lockheed Martin is a world leader in systems integration and the development of air and missile defense systems and technologies including the first operational hit-to-kill missile defense system. It also has considerable experience in missile production, advanced kill vehicles, advanced sensor systems, infrared seekers, battle management command, control and communications, precision pointing and tracking optics as well as radar and signal processing. The company makes significant contributions to all major U.S. Missile Defense Systems and participates in several global missile defense partnerships.

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 Corporation, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com .

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Corporation