Lockheed Martin has received a contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) valued at approximately $250 million to manufacture components for eight additional F-2 production aircraft. MHI is the prime contractor for the F-2, Japan's operational support fighter.

"With the award of this twelfth and final annual F-2 production contract, Lockheed Martin will begin fabrication and delivery of components for the last eight aircraft," said Jim Shidler, Lockheed Martin F-2 program director. "In addition, following completion of production it is imperative that the fielded aircraft are effectively maintained and enhanced in order to meet the long-term operational requirements of the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF). In this regard, Lockheed Martin is working with MHI to define appropriate industry post-production involvement."

This new award to Lockheed Martin brings the total aircraft under contract to 94, which is the total that the Japan Government has authorized for production. Lockheed Martin has completed components for the first 83 F-2 aircraft from those orders initiated under the 11 previous annual contracts. For the final contract, the company will continue to provide all of the aft fuselages, wing leading-edge flaps and stores management systems; 80 percent of all left-hand wing boxes; and other avionics and avionics support equipment. Lockheed Martin components are shipped to MHI's Komaki-South facility in Nagoya, Japan, where they are assembled with other components by MHI to form the F-2. MHI delivered the first production aircraft to the Ministry of Defense in September 2000, and plans to complete delivery of the first 76 aircraft early in Japan fiscal year 2008.

Lockheed Martin successfully completed all major component deliveries in October 2007 for its tenth annual production contract with MHI. Delivery of major components for the eleventh contract, signed last year, began in December 2007. This year's contract is effective immediately, with deliveries scheduled to begin in September 2008. Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 450 major airframe, avionics, and avionics support equipment components in this successful partnership with MHI since production deliveries began.

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 2007 sales of $41.9 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company