Lockheed Martin UK has been awarded a contract valued at approximately 20M pounds Sterling from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver a joint asset management information technology infrastructure that will enable the British Army to manage its wheeled and tracked vehicles.

The Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions' initial phase (JAMES 1) contract, was awarded to Lockheed Martin and industry partners IFS Defence, LogicaCMG and INSYS Ltd. "We are delighted that the MoD has selected the Lockheed Martin team for this phase of the JAMES project," said Ian Stopps, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin UK. "Along with our partners, we will be able to draw on our proven experience in logistics programmes in the U.S. and the UK to deliver to the customer a best-of-breed solution for JAMES 1."

JAMES 1 capabilities will include Activity Planning and Equipment Allocation/Management, the foundation for future JAMES initiatives across all the UK services -- Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.

Work will take place in the U.S. and UK and will continue through to 2011 (with scope for potential further increments being taken). Lockheed Martin will produce the software while the partners will perform various elements including procurement, Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Enterprise Resource Planning software, security and help desk support.

"JAMES, along with our strong training business in the UK, advances our vision of becoming a full partner with the MoD in Mission Readiness by providing a best-value solution for the UK military," said Jeff Zimmerman, Vice President for Lockheed Martin UK-Simulation, Training & Support. "Leveraging our investments and technologies from programmes such as Joint Strike Fighter equipped us to provide the MoD a robust, contemporary and flexible solution."

JAMES 1 is a vital step toward significant MoD operational cost savings and will be a critical component in achieving end-to-end logistic convergence in IT solutions.

Lockheed Martin UK, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a leader in systems integration working on major programmes 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, Reading, Havant, Southampton, Yeovil, Swindon, Hertford, Bristol and Cornwall.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, 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.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin