Lockheed Martin today marked the completion of factory acceptance testing for the fifth, and final, SPY-1F Aegis Weapon System for the Royal Norwegian Navy with a "pull-the-plug" ceremony at its Moorestown facility.

The ceremony declared the Aegis Weapon System ready for shipboard installation and celebrated de-energizing the system - "pulling the plug" - in its test environment in preparation for delivery to Navantia's Ferrol, Spain, shipyard. The system will be installed in the Norwegian frigate Thor Heyerdahl.

The delivery of the fifth Aegis system to Norway marks a significant milestone in the five-ship Norwegian New Frigate program, and comes a week after the Royal Norwegian Navy celebrated the arrival of KNM Fridtjof Nansen, the first ship of the program, in Oslo, Norway. Fridtjof Nansen was formally commissioned in Ferrol, Spain, April 5.

"The five ships of the Norwegian New Frigate program represent a great example of successful international teamwork and industry partnership," said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin's Surface-Sea Based Missile Defense line of business. "The flexibility of Aegis and the cooperation afforded through critical partnerships enable us to continue delivering a world-class system on-schedule and on-budget to multiple naval customers."

The SPY-1F is designed to provide high-performance surveillance, detection and tracking, and operate with the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and Standard Missile 2. Lockheed Martin is responsible for system integration of the multi-mission Integrated Warfare System, including sensors, command and control, communications and weapons, for the Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates.

The Aegis Weapon System is the world's premier naval surface defense system and is the foundation for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, the primary component of the sea-based element of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System. The Aegis Weapon System includes the SPY-1 radar, the Navy's most advanced computer-controlled radar system. When paired with the MK-41 Vertical Launching System, it is capable of delivering rapid reaction time and simultaneous firepower for every mission and threat environment in naval warfare.

The Aegis Weapon System is currently deployed on 79 ships around the globe, with more than 25 additional ships planned. In addition to the U.S. Navy and Norway, Aegis is the maritime weapon system of choice for Australia, Japan, South Korea and Spain.

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

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin