KINGS BAY, Ga, November 13th, 2008 -- U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) today formally opened an electronics facility for the Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.
Part of the base’s Strategic Weapons Facility, Atlantic, the new FBM Missile Integrated Support Facility is designed to reduce the cost of missile electronics assembly, repair and testing, as part of the Navy’s commitment to continual improvement of the entire FBM program. Lockheed Martin will perform missile electronics work at the new facility for the currently deployed Trident II D5 missile and for the Trident II D5 Life Extension missile now entering the production phase.
Officials participating in today’s opening ceremony included: Rear Adm. Stephen E. Johnson, director, U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs; Capt. Stephen Lewia, technical director, U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs; Capt. Robert Vince, missile branch head, U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs; Capt. Martin A. “Rusty” Nagle, commanding officer, Strategic Weapons Facility, Atlantic; and Capt. Michael Gordon, supply officer, Trident Refit Facility.
“Under the leadership of Navy Strategic Systems Programs, this new facility provides state-of-the-art capabilities that will enhance the cost effectiveness of providing and maintaining the electronics packages for the D5 missiles,” said Melanie A. Sloane, vice president of Fleet Ballistic Missile programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, the Navy’s Trident missile prime contractor. “The establishment of the facility illustrates the hallmarks of the FBM program: partnership, disciplined performance and continual improvement by the entire Navy and industry team.”
Housed in a renovated 39,000-square-foot wing of the Navy’s Strategic Weapons System Supply Warehouse, the Missile Integrated Support Facility includes assembly and disassembly stations, repair stations, test cells and failure diagnosis laboratories. Planning, renovation, equipment installation and certification of the facility were completed in three years. As part of that process, Lockheed Martin successfully tested the first electronics package in the new facility in July.
“The new facility enables improved efficiencies by shortening the supply chain between the factory and the fleet,” said David M. Catalano, resident director, Strategic Weapons Facility, Atlantic, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.
Lockheed Martin’s initial staff of 30 engineers, technicians and support personnel for the Missile Integrated Support Facility may increase over the next four years depending on Navy needs. Lockheed Martin employs a total of more than 500 employees in Kings Bay at the Navy’s Strategic Weapons Facility, Atlantic.
The Trident II D5 missile has achieved 124 consecutive successful test launches since 1989 – a record unmatched by any other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle. First deployed in 1990, the D5 missile is currently aboard OHIO-class submarines and British VANGUARD-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile can travel a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the prime contractor and program manager for the U.S. Navy’s Trident missile. Lockheed Martin Space Systems employees, principally in California, Georgia, Florida, Washington and Utah, support the design, development, production, test and operation of the Trident Strategic Weapon System. Lockheed Martin Space Systems has been the Navy’s prime strategic missile contractor since the inception of the program more than 50 years ago.
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