Lockheed Martin has successfully completed a P-3 delivery milestone for the U.S. Navy, performing an industry-first modification and scheduled maintenance effort on one of the Navy's P-3C aircraft.

Lockheed Martin completed a Special Structural Inspection Kit (SSI-K) modification in conjunction with Phased Depot Maintenance (PDM) at its Greenville Site Operations maintenance and modification facility in Greenville, S.C. The aircraft was delivered last month and marks the first SSI-K modification completed simultaneously with a scheduled PDM in the P-3 community.

"This is a significant delivery milestone for our Navy customer and other P-3 operators," says John Cary, Greenville Site Operations vice president and general manager. "Successfully completing a heavy mod such as SSI-K in conjunction with a scheduled PDM is a big step forward in streamlining our P-3 support capability."

Lockheed Martin currently provides PDM, significant structural inspections, heavy structural modifications, and kit installations to improve P-3 mission effectiveness at its Greenville facility. In March 2008, the new P-3 wing production line will become operational at the company's Marietta, Ga., manufacturing facility. These Life Extension Kits, which will be comprised of newly manufactured wings, a horizontal stabilizer and a center wing lower assembly, will add an additional 15,000 flying hours to each aircraft, representing 20-25 additional years of service life. Delivery of the first kit to the Royal Norwegian Air Force is scheduled for June 2009.

"This successful delivery is just the most recent example of the range of support we are able to provide for the P-3," said Ray Burick, Lockheed Martin vice president of P-3 programs. "As the P-3 original equipment manufacturer, Lockheed Martin is uniquely qualified to support these aircraft with affordable solutions for extended airframe service life, avionics upgrades and logistics, and that is reflected in the quality results that we produce."

The P-3 Orion, a four-engine turboprop, entered Navy service in 1962 as an anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. Its mission has evolved to include battle space surveillance, either at sea or over land, and there are firefighting variants as well. The P-3 is currently operated by 16 nations worldwide.

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. The corporation reported 2006 sales of $39.6 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company