Lockheed Martin today agreed to team with Rolls-Royce plc and VT Group plc to pursue the Training Systems Integrator role for the UK Ministry of Defence's Military Flying Training System (MFTS).

Each member of the team brings a unique and complementary knowledge base to this partnership, making available, and enabling, the world-class capability inherent within each company for success in the Training Systems Integrator role.

Lockheed Martin is the world's leading provider of military aircrew training, bringing a wealth of knowledge in training systems design and development. The VT Group both provides and supports current flying training through partnership with the UK MoD. Rolls-Royce offers a unique mix of program management and asset financing skills embedded in the UK environment. This team, acting in partnership with the UK MoD, the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army Air Corps, will provide the future military aircrew of the UK Armed Forces with the opportunity to receive state-of-the-art training technologies in a total service that is second to none.

"The Lockheed Martin, VT Group and Rolls-Royce team offers the optimal combination of skills to perform as Training Systems Integrator and enable the MoD to train selected Tri-Service Military Aviators to defined standards in a timely and sustainable manner," said Dan Crowley, President, Lockheed Martin Information Systems.

John Boughton, Director of Customer Business -- Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace, said: "This strong teaming agreement allows us the best opportunity to formulate the most competitive solution to this unique customer requirement."

VT Group chief executive Paul Lester said, "Our skills and experience in Military Flying Training will considerably enhance the consortium's capability to provide the best solution to the UK armed forces' future training requirements."

Lockheed Martin UK, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a leader in systems integration working on major programs spanning the aerospace, defence, civil and commercial sectors with significant capabilities in the transport infrastructure market. In the UK, Lockheed Martin has annual sales in the range of 400-600 million pounds sterling working with more than 75 business partners. Lockheed Martin employs approximately 1,000 people at over 10 UK facilities including London, Havant, Southampton, Yeovil, Swindon, Hertford, Bristol and Cornwall.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 125,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Notes to Editors:

1. The UK Military Flying Training System will replace the present flying training arrangements for the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and the Army Air Corps before the end of the present decade.

2. UKMFTS is a genuinely tri-Service program which will cater for the different training needs of the entire flying element of the UK front line, ranging from fast-jet pilots and navigators, through rotary wing pilots and rear crews, to multi-engine pilots and rear crews. This program will encompass all flying training which takes place from the moment young men and women are selected, through to their arrival at the conversion unit for their designated operational aircraft.

3. Timing: Following a successful Initial Gate Submission at the end of 2002 the program has entered the current assessment phase. ISP is due in 2007 with FSP due in 2012.

4. Lockheed Martin, was recently tasked to undertake the UK Military Flying Training System (UK MFTS) Live/Synthetic Balance study in partnership with the Cranfield College of Aeronautics and Training Systems Technology.

5. VT Group plc is a leading provider of products and services, primarily to Governments in the UK, USA and the Middle East. The Group is divided into two businesses -- support services, shipbuilding. Together, these activities employ 10,000 people worldwide. Turnover is in the region of 600m pounds sterling.

6. Rolls-Royce plc operates in four global markets -- civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy. It is investing in technology and capability that can be exploited in each of these sectors to create a competitive range of products.

Annual sales total nearly 6 billion pounds sterling, of which 50 percent currently comes from aftermarket services. The order book stands at more than 17 billion pounds sterling, which, together with aftermarket demand, provides visibility as to future activity levels.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Information Systems