DALLAS, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) family of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles successfully completed a top-to-bottom government design review in late December, well ahead of the first Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) JLTVs that will begin rolling off the assembly line this spring.

The Design Understanding Review, which was held December 18 through 20, assessed all elements of Lockheed Martin's JLTV design and confirmed its overall maturity and requirements compliance.

"We are focused on ensuring that our servicemen and women get the very best equipment for the mission," said Scott Greene, vice president of Ground Vehicles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Our JLTV is affordable both to buy and to operate.  It provides proven performance with room to upgrade capabilities as required and is ready for production."

In refining its EMD design, the Lockheed Martin team optimized a JLTV model already proven in government testing. The production-enhanced JLTV maintains the proven force protection, transportability and reliability of the earlier Technology Demonstration model, while significantly reducing weight and cost. Lockheed Martin's JLTV design reflects improvements from more than 160,000 combined testing miles.

The JLTV family of vehicles is designed to replace and supplement the existing fleet of Army and Marine Corps Humvees. Compared to existing vehicles, JLTV will provide greatly improved crew protection, lower logistical support costs, superior fuel efficiency and state-of-the-art connectivity with other platforms and systems. Government tests show the Lockheed Martin design equals the high blast-protection standards of much larger mine-resistant vehicles serving in combat today.

In August 2012, Lockheed Martin received a $65 million contract from the Army and Marine Corps to continue developing its JLTV design through the EMD phase. Assembly of the first EMD JLTVs is under way at BAE Systems' military-vehicle manufacturing plant in Sealy, Texas.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is a 2012 recipient of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for performance excellence. The Malcolm Baldrige Award represents one of the highest honors that can be awarded to American companies for their achievements in leadership, strategic planning, customer relations, measurement, analysis, workforce excellence, operations and results.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 120,000 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 net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin