DALLAS, Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a production contract totaling $3.9 billion to produce elements of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapons System for the Missile Defense Agency and the United Arab Emirates. 

The contract includes the manufacture and delivery of a maximum of 110 interceptors for the U.S. Army, including the fiscal 2014 option. These Lot 4, 5 and 6 interceptors will be fielded to the U.S. Army at Ft. Bliss, Texas. The contract also includes interceptors and other ground hardware for the UAE.

"Lockheed Martin is focused on delivering these key components of the THAAD Weapon System to our customers," said Mathew Joyce, vice president and program manager for THAAD at Lockheed Martin. "We continue to see strong interest from around the globe for the unique capabilities THAAD can provide." 

THAAD interceptors are produced at Lockheed Martin's Pike County facility in Troy, Ala. The launchers and fire control units are produced at the company's Camden, Ark., facility.

Lockheed Martin is currently under contract for five THAAD batteries for the U.S. Army. Deliveries on Batteries 3 and 4 are underway, with final completion expected in December 2013. Battery 5 was awarded in late 2012.  

Since 2005, the THAAD development program has completed 13 flight tests, with 11 successful intercepts in 11 attempts. THAAD is the only missile defense system with the operational flexibility to intercept in both the endo- and exo-atmospheres to provide versatile capability to the warfighter.

A THAAD battery was deployed for the first time internationally by the U.S. Army to Guam earlier this year.

A key element of the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), THAAD is a Missile Defense Agency program, with the program office located in Huntsville, Ala. The agency is developing the BMDS to defend the United States, its deployed forces, friends and allies against ballistic missiles of all ranges and in all phases of flight.

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 achievement in leadership, strategic planning, customer relations, measurement, analysis, workforce excellence, operations and business results.

Lockheed Martin is a world leader in systems integration and the development of air and missile defense systems and technologies, including the first operational hit-to-kill interceptor. It also has considerable experience in interceptor design and production, infrared seekers, command and control/battle management, and communications, precision pointing and tracking optics, as well as radar and signal processing. The company makes significant contributions to all major U.S. missile defense systems and participates in several global missile defense partnerships.

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.

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin