Lockheed Martin has named Larry Lawson as executive vice president, general manager of the F/A-22 Raptor program. In this role, Lawson has overall responsibility for the program, which has a team of 4,500 employees in Georgia, Texas and California along with industrial teammates and 1,000 suppliers. Lawson had served as vice president, F/A-22 deputy since September 2004.

Lawson replaces Ralph Heath, who has been named Lockheed Martin executive vice president effective Jan. 17, 2005. Heath succeeds Dain Hancock, who is retiring. Lawson's new position is effective immediately.

"Larry Lawson is well prepared to assume leadership of the F/A-22 program," said Dain Hancock, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Corporation. "His strong technical, program management and leadership background will be a major asset for this program, which is the U.S. Air Force's highest priority program."

A Lockheed Martin employee for 18 years, Lawson served as vice president of Business Development for Lockheed Martin's Electronic Systems business area before joining the F/A-22 program. He earlier served as the vice president of Strike Weapons at Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, Fla., with responsibility for domestic and international weapons programs such as JASSM (Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile), WCMD (Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser), LOCAAS (Low Cost Autonomous Attack System) and the AGM-142 missile program.

"This is an exciting time for the entire F/A-22 team," Lawson said, "as we move toward Initial Operational Capability and full rate production and embark on a modernization program that will infuse the very latest technologies into the Raptor in the coming years. I am excited about leading this team that is producing the aircraft that will provide air dominance for the U.S. military."

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The F/A-22 is being developed to counter the increasing sophistication and threat of hostile air forces and integrated air defense systems in use around the world. As the replacement for the F-15, the Raptor will provide air dominance and a precision ground attack capability for U.S. forces for the next 40 years. As the world's only fifth-generation fighter, the F/A-22 Raptor is, and will remain, unprecedented in its total integration of stealth and advanced avionics. It is a revolutionary leap in lethality and survivability over any aircraft in production or design anywhere in the world. With its built-in reliability and maintainability, this fighter will be able to deploy rapidly anywhere on the globe.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, a business area of Lockheed Martin, is a leader in the design, research and development, systems integration, production and support of advanced military aircraft and related technologies. Its customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world. Products include the F-16, F/A-22, F-35 JSF, F-117, C-5, C-130, C-130J, P-3, S-3 and U-2. The company produces major components for the F-2 fighter and is a co-developer of the C-27J tactical transport and T-50 advanced jet trainer.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin Corp. 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.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company