Lockheed Martin today announced that a broad base of companies will assist it in the development of Aerial Common Sensor (ACS), the U.S. Army's next generation manned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system. The program's six-year $879 million system development and demonstration (SD&D) phase will produce more than 800 new, high-quality jobs in the United States.

"The Lockheed Martin ACS team is committed to providing the best value and most effective system possible for this critical government program. This includes creating more than 800 jobs by developing, integrating, building and maintaining ACS in the United States," said Wes Colburn, Lockheed Martin's ACS program executive.

As the prime systems integrator, Lockheed Martin will lead the ACS team from its Integrated Systems & Solutions facility, adding approximately 300 high technology positions to its Denver, Colo., workforce. Aircraft assembly, during the low-rate and initial production phases, will create 150-200 jobs at the new Embraer facility slated to open in Jacksonville Fla., in 2005; aircraft systems integration work will add approximately 100 new positions at L-3 Communications' facility in Greenville, Texas. Additional Lockheed Martin key ACS subcontractors and their roles include:

  * Argon Engineering (Va.) -- Signals intelligence subsystem provider
  * BAE Systems (N.Y.) -- Hyper Spectral Imagery
  * General Dynamics (Fla.) -- Modeling and simulation
  * Harris (Fla.) -- Mission communications; imagery intelligence
    exploitation
  * Raytheon (Va.) -- Distributed common ground system (DCGS) 10.2 support

In addition to these subcontractors, many areas of the country will benefit economically from the ACS program, as its supply sources include more than 150 providers in 27 states. Also, a significant portion of the team's supplier base -- more than 30 percent -- is comprised of small businesses. "These small businesses form the foundation of a strong, growing economy. It is through these businesses that continual technical innovation thrives," added Colburn.

The U.S. Army selected the Lockheed Martin ACS Team on Aug. 2. Following the program's current SD&D phase, the government is projecting requirements for up to 57 aircraft systems (38 Army and 19 Navy) worth $7 billion over 20 years.

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. The corporation reported 2003 sales of $31.8 billion.

For additional information, visit our website:

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin