FORT WORTH, Texas, March 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] won three 2015 Manufacturing Leadership (ML) Awards for achievements in Engineering and Production Technology Leadership. The ML Awards are administered by the Manufacturing Leadership Council, Frost & Sullivan – a global business leadership network.

"Our innovations in manufacturing technology ultimately deliver improved product affordability by building in quality and assembly efficiency through the use of state of the art tools," said Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president for Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics business. "We are honored to be recognized as a leader in manufacturing from our technology peers."   

Lockheed Martin's Applied Additive Tooling Technologies Project led to more than 5,000 additively manufactured tools and shop aids on the F-35 program as a lower cost, quick-turn, lightweight alternative to metallic and hand-laid fiberglass tooling, which has historically been used in aircraft production.

With a focus on reducing the cost and improving the quality of drilling holes in aircraft production, the Hole Drilling Process Improvement Project resulted in an approximate  90 percent cost reduction, on a cost-per-hole basis over a four-year period, and reduced the scrap, rework, and repair costs by approximately 60 percent over the past two years.

The third award, The Optical Projection of Fastener Installation Data Project, recognizes Lockheed Martin's development and deployment of optical projection of fastener installation data. This capability eliminated the need for the sizeable and cumbersome paper drawings and templates routinely used in manufacturing. Lockheed Martin installed more than 150 optical projectors in 45 assembly stations on the F-35 and C-130 programs. The projection systems eliminated $37.8 million in costs to date, and usage continues to expand.

About the Manufacturing Leadership Council
The Manufacturing Leadership Council, Frost & Sullivan, is the world's first member-driven, global business leadership network dedicated to senior executives in the manufacturing industry. The Manufacturing Leadership Council's mission is to help senior executives define and shape a better future for themselves, their organizations, and the industry at large. The Council produces an extensive portfolio of leadership networking, information, and professional development products, programs, and services, including the Manufacturing Leadership Community website, an online global business network with over 6,700 members worldwide; the Manufacturing Leadership Council, an invitation-only executive organization of over 100 members; the annual Manufacturing Leadership Summit; the Manufacturing Leadership Awards, celebrating industry achievement; and the thought-leading Manufacturing Leadership Journal.

About Lockheed Martin:
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 112,000 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 2014 were $45.6 billion.

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company