Lockheed Martin is developing and integrating new technologies that are enhancing transportation systems today, and promise to make them dramatically different tomorrow, said Judy Marks, president, Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions.

"We believe that a strong transportation infrastructure is critical to our nation's economic well-being and our citizens' way of life," Marks said today during a briefing at the National Press Club. "As air travel surpasses pre- September 11th numbers and the price of jet fuel continues to climb, new technologies that satisfy the demand for efficiency, safety and security become all the more critical."

Currently composed of over 500 certified airports, 35,000 daily airline flights, 600,000 pilots, 300 sea ports, 2 million rail cars, and 11 million trucks, the U.S. transportation system must continuously evolve to safely meet the needs of more travel and trade. "What works today may not be effective tomorrow," said Marks. "For example, when you add micro-jets to the mix by 2025, you need to fundamentally change the National Airspace System and our airports. When it comes to transportation innovation, we must look with a long eye toward the future."

"Achieving security, safety and efficiency will always be the end game; we cannot pursue one of these priorities at the expense of the others. Instead, we need to stay ahead of new threats while increasing safety and looking for new ways to conserve energy," said Marks. "Yet at the same time, we can't stop or slow the system to change it -- we need to find ways to ensure that it evolves without detours, delays or disruptions for passengers, trade or commerce."

To do that, Lockheed Martin believes the future should focus on interoperability of current and future systems and information sharing among transportation stakeholders, said Marks. "By integrating complex systems in a seamless way, we break down stovepipes to get the right information to the right people at the right time...to make informed decisions quickly."

To test these concepts of interoperability and information sharing, Lockheed Martin recently teamed with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to create the Airport of the Future, a technology test bed at Daytona Beach International Airport. This "teaching airport" will demonstrate how current and new technologies can be integrated to connect airport stakeholders, such as air traffic controllers, airport operators, security officials and airline dispatchers, with more comprehensive data.

"We will explore concepts such as how to make door-to-door travel more secure and faster for travelers," said Marks. "Even with increased efficiency in the sky, systems will be limited unless we effectively manage aircraft on runways. The question becomes how we can best use surface management technology to increase airport capacity -- without laying pavement for new runways."

Lockheed Martin's involvement in the nation's transportation infrastructure started in 1956, when its heritage companies began experimenting with the use of computers to track and automate air traffic. Currently, Lockheed Martin's systems guide more than 60 percent of the world's commercial air traffic. With the formation of the Transportation Security Administration, Lockheed Martin reconfigured checkpoints and trained more than 54,000 screeners for the nation's 429 airports -- within the congressionally- mandated six-month deadline. By leveraging proven technologies from the defense and law enforcement arenas, including biometric credentialing, high- level physical security, chemical and biological agent detection, and integrated domain awareness, the Corporation has brought significant technological sophistication to our nation's air, ground and sea transportation. More recent projects include:

  * New air traffic management technologies that are saving air carriers
    time in the sky and millions of dollars in fuel.  Lockheed Martin's User
    Request and Evaluation Tool (URET) allows air traffic controllers to
    route aircraft safely and more efficiently -- and has already saved
    carriers an estimated $493.4 million in fuel and operational costs
    during its phased-in deployment at 20 FAA centers across the nation.
    Furthermore, the company is helping the FAA with managing oceanic air
    traffic, decreasing flight times and minimizing fuel costs through the
    agency's Advanced Technologies and Oceanic Procedures (ATOP) program.

  * The use of biometric credentialing to speed clearance through airport
    security screening lines and give secure access to our nation's
    transportation workers.  As the systems integrator for Verified Identity
    Pass on the Registered Traveler program, Lockheed Martin has helped
    enhance customer service to frequent travelers via fast-lane access
    through standard security procedures.

  * The use of advanced integrated surveillance, command and control to
    secure the nation's largest transit system.  Lockheed Martin is working
    to ensure that the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bus,
    subway and commuter rail lines operate safely and efficiently through
    deploying technology that will optimize prevention, response, reaction
    and recovery.

"It may surprise some people to learn about Lockheed Martin's contributions to our transportation infrastructure, but tackling complex challenges is what we do best," said Marks. "For this company, innovation is the best way we can serve the citizens of this country."

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.

For additional information, visit our website:

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin