LOCKHEED MARTIN AWARDED US$85 MLN FOR AUSTRALIAN WEAPON SYSTEM.

(Full text of a statement. Contact details follow below.)

MOORESTOWN, N.J., June 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

The U.S. Navy today awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) $85 million for long-lead material items and critical work center efforts to support the production of three Aegis Weapon Systems for Australia's Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) program. The contract immediately authorizes $64.5 million for this effort.

This contract arrangement allows the Australian program to take advantage of production efficiencies by combining the long-lead items with other ongoing Aegis Weapon System work already under contract.

"This long-lead material contract provides significant cost savings for the Royal Australian Navy," said Paul Johnson, managing director of Lockheed Martin Australia. "We are fully committed to supporting the AWD program by delivering outstanding systems that meet the Navy's schedule and cost goals."

The three Aegis Weapon Systems for the AWD program will be the next generation of Aegis, which will include 100 percent commercial off-the-shelf hardware and a fully open architecture computing system.

"Aegis Open Architecture will provide multiple advantages, including the opportunity to more easily integrate Australian systems into the AWD combat system and reducing acquisition and certification risks and costs," said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Surface Sea-Based Missile Defense Systems business in Moorestown. "Aegis Open Architecture is already driving commonality across the United States' surface fleet, as it is being directly leveraged and reused in combat system development associated with the Littoral Combat Ship, DDG-1000 and the Coast Guard's Deepwater programs."