Lockheed Martin has selected its Pike County Operations facility in Troy, AL, for the production of the Non Line-of-Sight - Launch System (NLOS-LS) Loitering Attack Missile (LAM).

Plans include establishment of a pilot production line at the facility starting in 2006. During the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program, work in Troy will include engineering integration, test and limited production. Full-rate production is forecast to continue through 2020 and involve as many as 70 jobs at the facility.

The LAM is an integral part of the Army's Future Combat Systems. The LAM technology has been successfully demonstrated under a previous DARPA program and is interoperable with the current force as well as the future forces.

In March 2004, NetFires Limited Liability Company (LLC), a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Company , received a $1.1 billion contract for System Development and Demonstration for the NLOS-LS, previously known as NetFires. Lockheed Martin will produce the LAM, Raytheon will produce the Precision Attack Missile (PAM), and both companies will produce the Container Launch Unit (CLU). Engineering design and development will be done at the Lockheed Grand Prairie, Texas, facility prior to early transition to production to Troy.

"Our Pike County Operations was the logical choice for the production of the LAM," said Ric Magness, president of NetFires LLC. "The plant has significant experience producing missiles similar in size and function to the LAM, and they have continually demonstrated their ability to achieve an extremely high level of quality over the years."

A number of Alabama leading officials have endorsed Lockheed Martin's decision to build the LAM in Troy:

"In announcing its decision to produce the Loitering Attack Missile in Troy, Lockheed Martin has again expressed its confidence in our Alabama workforce. LAM is a critical component of the Army's Future Combat Systems. LAM will ensure that America's warfighters will have the means to find, fix and fight our adversaries and maintain technological dominance far into the future on any global battlefield," said U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

"I am pleased that Lockheed Martin has made the decision to build the Loitering Attack Missile at their facility in Troy, and I will continue to support the NLOS-LS program. It is clear that Lockheed Martin recognizes the dedicated and quality workforce they have in Pike County," said U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).

"Lockheed Martin made the right choice in selecting Pike County to produce the LAM. The quality of the workforce and the outstanding performance record of the facility have contributed greatly to America's national defense preparedness and the war on terror. They will do an equally professional job in manufacturing the LAM," said U.S. Rep Terry Everett (R-AL).

The LAM is an expendable, loitering hunter-killer. In production, it will be about 60 inches long and weigh less than 120 pounds. It is capable of searching a large area using a laser radar (LADAR) seeker with automatic target recognition. LAM's initial capability will be 30 minutes of loitering at 70 kilometers using its micro turbojet. While loitering, LAM will be able to report the identification and exact location of targets without exercising its lethal capability. Two-way data links on LAM will provide for re-tasking while in-flight and downlinking of images.

The Pike County Operations encompass 3,863 acres, 336,000 square feet of building space and employs 286 personnel. Employees at the plant perform final assembly, test and storage of missiles, including the Hellfire II and Longbow Hellfire tactical missiles, the Javelin and the Predator antitank missiles. Pike County Operations also will build the new Joint Common Missile (JCM), slated to ultimately replace the Hellfire II, Longbow and Maverick missiles. In addition, the facility builds the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and is Lockheed Martin's Center of Excellence for Strike Weapons.

Lockheed Martin has had a successful business relationship with the state of Alabama for the past 10 years. As a result of strong state and local partnerships over the years, Lockheed Martin's Pike County Operations has amassed a string of national, state and industry awards for excellence in production, quality, security, environmental protection and workplace safety. The Troy facility has been honored with Industry Week's "America's Best Plants" award, the Defense Investigative Service Cogswell Award, and the 2002 Alabama "Manufacturer of the Year" award.

Additionally, the facility, in 2002, received the prestigious Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Award, which "recognizes organizations that use world-class manufacturing strategies and practices to achieve world-class results." Pike County Operations is among a small number of facilities recognized with this award.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin