Lockheed Martin announced today that it has been awarded a $124 million, three- year contract for Japanese Foreign Military Sales Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Weapon System engineering development. The contract provides the Aegis BMD Weapon System upgrades for the first of a planned group of four Japanese Kongo-class destroyers, DDG 173.

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin is responsible for combat systems engineering, and development and integration of the Aegis BMD Weapon System, as well as upgrades to the Vertical Launching System and the ship Command and Control System.

"Our continued work with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force underscores their trust in our ability to deliver the most capable and advanced missile defense capability," said Fred P. Moosally, president of Lockheed Martin's Maritime Systems & Sensors business unit. "The Aegis BMD Weapon System will become a vital component of Japan's strong and ready naval self-defense force."

This FMS effort will be performed under the existing Aegis BMD contract awarded in October 2003. The work will be performed in Moorestown, NJ; Eagan, MN; and Baltimore, MD, and is expected to be complete in 2007.

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy are jointly developing Aegis BMD as part of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The MDA and the U.S. Navy will ultimately outfit 15 Aegis destroyers and three Aegis cruisers with the capability to conduct Long Range Surveillance and Tracking (LRS&T) and engagement of ballistic missile threats using the Aegis BMD Weapon and its Standard Missile-3.

The Aegis Weapon System is the world's premier naval surface defense system and is the basis for Aegis BMD, the primary component of the sea-based element of the United States' Ballistic Missile Defense System. The Aegis BMD Weapon System seamlessly integrates the SPY-1 radar, the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System and the SM-3 missile with its own command and control system. It is capable of simultaneous operation defending against advanced air, surface, subsurface and ballistic missile threats. The Aegis BMD Weapon System also integrates with the BMDS, providing cueing information to other BMDS elements today as well as providing and using more robust tracking information in the future to significantly expand national missile defense capability.

Currently, Aegis Weapon System capabilities are on 69 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers on station around the world. Plans are currently underway to install the system on an additional 17 U.S. Navy destroyers. In addition to the U.S., Aegis is the weapon system of choice for Spain, Japan, Korea, and Norway. Recently, Australia selected Aegis for its new Air Warfare Destroyer program.

Lockheed Martin is a global leader in missile defense solutions and technologies designed to defend against attacks by ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and other airborne threats. The corporation co-leads the Missile Defense Agency National Team; contributes to nearly every U.S. air-, land-, sea- and space-based missile defense initiative; and consults on air and missile defense issues with U.S. and international governments. Lockheed Martin Corporation is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin