Lockheed Martin 's Undersea Systems business, in Manassas, VA, has been honored with two 2007 Nunn-Perry Awards for its participation on two teams in the Department of Defense Mentor-Protege Program with Epsilon System Solutions, Inc. and Geodetics Inc., both of San Diego, CA.

The Mentor-Protege Program encourages large defense contractors to develop the technical capabilities of small, disadvantaged businesses and to enable organizations employing the severely disabled to compete more effectively for defense-related work. The Nunn-Perry Award, honoring former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, recognizes outstanding mentor-protege teams which excel in technical developments and cost efficiencies, as well as increase business opportunities for small, disadvantaged firms.

Epsilon System Solutions, Inc. and Geodetics, Inc. both began their mentor-protege relationships with Lockheed Martin in 2004. Epsilon System Solutions is a small, disadvantaged business that manufactures ruggedized flat panel displays installed on U.S. submarines. Geodetics is a woman-owned, small business that specializes in advanced Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology and was honored for the development of location-determination hardware. Both mentor-protege teams are sponsored by the Joint Robotics Office of Space and Naval Warfare Systems (SPAWAR) Center, San Diego, CA.

"Lockheed Martin is committed to teaming with small business partners as we continue to provide our customers with the very best products and capabilities," said Denise Saiki, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Undersea Systems line of business. "It is truly an honor to earn recognition from our customer for outstanding performance and participation in the DoD Mentor-Protege program."

"Epsilon Systems is honored that we were chosen to receive this esteemed award in recognition of our outstanding relationship with Lockheed Martin," said Bryan Min, president & C.E.O. of Epsilon Systems. "Our mentor-protege agreement with Lockheed Martin has assisted Epsilon Systems in numerous ways including efforts leading toward our ISO 9001:2000 quality system certification for our products sector and expansion into a new, much larger manufacturing facility in 2006. Our DoD mentor-protege relationship has clearly been a win-win situation for both of our companies."

"The work performed under the Mentor-Protege relationship fills an identified need to provide high-accuracy, real-time, positioning and navigation solutions to support the warfighter," said Dr. Lydia Bock, president and CEO of Geodetics. "Geodetics is proud to have been selected as a Nunn-Perry award recipient and is confident that the results will be highly valuable to the force."

This is the second consecutive year that Lockheed Martin's Manassas-based business has received the Nunn-Perry Award. In 2006, the business was recognized by the Defense Department for its mentor-protege relationship with M & M Technical Services, Inc., a Woodbridge, VA-based small business that provides a variety of information systems and engineering services.

Initiated in 1991, the Department of Defense's Mentor-Protege Program has served hundreds of large corporations and small businesses as a positive, constructive and useful means for building stronger business relationships, elevating small business firms to a higher level, transferring technology, and fulfilling the supply needs of the nation's military. The Nunn-Perry Award recognizing mentor-protege teams was first presented in 1995.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 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