DALLAS, Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) has reached a key maturity milestone, accumulating over 145,000 combined internal and government testing miles across its family of vehicles.  U.S. Army and Marine teams continue to accumulate durability miles as part of a 12-month test and evaluation phase at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz.

"Reaching 145,000 combined testing miles shows that our vehicle design is mature and robust, and can stand up to the harsh conditions in which they will operate," said Scott Greene, vice president of Ground Vehicles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.  "Our commitment to performance is equal to our commitment to affordability, and those qualities will only improve as we continue to optimize our design for an Engineering and Manufacturing Development proposal later this year."

Ten Lockheed Martin JLTV variants are undergoing government evaluations, as part of the Technology Development (TD) phase of the JLTV program, expected to conclude in May.  

"Our JLTV family of vehicles has delivered consistent performance throughout the TD phase," Greene said.  "TD offers challenging mobility and reliability trials that have pushed our vehicles to the extreme, and we're proud of the dependability and maturity our platform has demonstrated to the customer."

Lockheed Martin leads a team pursuing the JLTV program, a joint services effort to return advanced mobility, protection and payload to deployed troops by replacing a portion of the aging High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) fleet.  The JLTV program creates a common family of vehicles consisting of the Combat Tactical Vehicle and Combat Support Vehicle, both with multiple variants and associated companion trailers.

Formed in 2005, the Lockheed Martin-led JLTV team includes BAE Systems Global Tactical Systems, Alcoa Defense and JWF-Defense Systems.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 132,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin