Lockheed Martin has delivered the first increment of the Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions (JAMES) to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). JAMES, a software-based logistic process application, was rolled out to the British Army's 102nd Logistics Brigade based in Germany. Initial Operating Capability (IOC) was declared Oct. 20.

Members of the 102nd will use the first phase of JAMES, known as "JAMES 1 Land," in their daily vehicle planning, tasking and maintenance activities. This marks a key customer milestone in the implementation of Whole Fleet Management, the UK MoD's Management Information System for all military assets.

The UK MoD is developing the JAMES program as a way to deliver engineering and asset management capabilities to enable the British Army to manage its equipment. It is considered a vital step toward significant increases in MoD operational effectiveness and ultimately will result in savings in equipment support costs. JAMES will be a critical component in achieving end-to-end logistic information technology convergence throughout the MoD. Planned future increments of JAMES will manage air and naval assets.

"JAMES 1 Land has been enthusiastically received by the users," said Col. Toby Mills, JAMES Program Manager. Added Maj. Micky Binks of 102nd Logistic Brigade, "I've seen many systems but this is the first time one has been delivered that works straight away and provides me with a useful tool." Brigade Commander Brigadier Mark Poffley said that JAMES is "a roaring success" and the response from the troops using it has been "universally positive."

The 20 million pound ($35.3 million) JAMES 1 Land contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin and industry partners IFS Defence, LogicaCMG and INSYS Ltd. (now Lockheed Martin UK INSYS Ltd.) in July 2004. JAMES 1 Land, which will manage all land equipment used by the Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, is being delivered in increments of increasing functionality and equipment scope. The first increment provides a platform-level asset management capability that includes planning, tasking and maintenance management.

Work on JAMES will continue to take place in the U.S. and UK through 2011. Lockheed Martin will produce the software while its partners will perform various elements including procurement, Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Enterprise Resource Planning software, security and help desk support.

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. In the UK, Lockheed Martin has annual sales in the range of 400-600 million pounds working with more than 100 business partners.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.

             For additional information, visit our websites:
                     http://www.lockheedmartin.co.uk/

                      http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin