DALLAS, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) celebrated the delivery of 22 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps today under the JLTV program's Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract.

JLTV team members marked the milestone during a ceremony at the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control facility in Dallas. The vehicles will be transferred to the Army's Yuma Test Center in Arizona and to Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland, where Lockheed Martin will support a 14-month period of government evaluation and testing.

"Our team has produced a highly capable, reliable and affordable JLTV for our customers," said Scott Greene, vice president of ground vehicles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "These vehicles will meet the toughest demands of our Soldiers and Marines. They deserve our best, and that's precisely what we delivered."

After rolling up more than 160,000 combined test miles in the program's Technology Development phase, the Lockheed Martin JLTV was selected for continued development through a $65 million EMD contract from the Army and Marine Corps in August 2012. Lockheed Martin designed its JLTV specifically to meet stated customer requirements for the program, rather than trying to adapt an existing vehicle. The result is a lighter, more blast-resistant and more agile vehicle.

The Lockheed Martin JLTV is designed to be a total solution – engineered from the ground up to balance the "iron triangle" of protection, performance and payload while maintaining affordability. The vehicle provides greatly improved crew protection and mobility, lower logistical support costs, superior fuel efficiency, exportable power-generation with substantial margin for future growth, and state-of-the-art connectivity with other platforms and systems. A Meritor Pro-Tec^TM air suspension system contributes to outstanding off-road performance while minimizing crew fatigue.

BAE Systems is responsible for the JLTV's geometrically enhanced protection system, a design that enables levels of blast protection never before achieved in this vehicle class, and for vehicle final assembly.

For more than three decades, Lockheed Martin has applied its systems-integration expertise to a wide range of successful ground vehicles for U.S. and allied forces worldwide. The company's products include the combat-proven Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) M270-series and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) mobile launchers, Havoc 8x8, Common Vehicle, Light Armored Vehicle-Command and Control, Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and pioneering unmanned platforms such as the Squad Mission Support System (SMSS).

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 the highest honor 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 and aerospace company that employs about 116,000 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 2012 were $47.2 billion.

For additional information, visit our website:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/jltv

SOURCE Lockheed Martin