The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a Mission Planning Enterprise Contract (MPEC) delivery order to upgrade components for the U.S. Air Force's fleet of F-16 Block 40 and 50 aircraft. This contract entails upgrading the F-16 Mission Planning Environment software. The initial value of this delivery order is $1.4 million, with options that could total $34.9 million over the six-year period of performance.

"The MPEC program is predicated on increasing interoperability for the F- 16, and is a key component in the Air Force's path to net-centric warfare. By integrating disparate components and systems, the Joint Mission Planning System environment will improve the survivability and weapons effectiveness of the F-16 for years to come," said John Mengucci, vice president and general manager of Department of Defense Systems for Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions.

MPEC will transition legacy Air Force, Navy and Army systems into a single Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS) that will be used by all services. Air Force mission planning systems are currently comprised of two legacy systems, the portable flight planning system (a PC-based system) and the mission planning system (a Unix-based system). Over the next seven years, under the MPEC structure, the net-centric JMPS will replace these legacy systems, as well as the Navy's tactical aircraft mission planning systems and the Army's mission planning system.

Lockheed Martin is one of five contractors selected in November 2004 by the U.S. Air Force for MPEC, an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity program with a $2 billion total value over the life of the contract. The majority of the work for this particular delivery order will be performed at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas.

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. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.

For additional information, visit our website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin