08:05 GMT, December 2, 2009 MOORESTOWN, NJ | Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] celebrated the completed production of the first Aegis Weapon System for the Royal Australian Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD-1) Program.

In a “pull-the-plug” ceremony at its Moorestown facility, Lockheed Martin marked the successful completion of a full range of acceptance tests conducted over several months to verify system performance. This milestone indicates the Aegis system is now ready for shipboard installation on HOBART, the first of Australia’s three planned Aegis-equipped destroyers.

In 2007, the U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to equip the three Australian ships with the Aegis. The first AWD-1 system will now be packed and shipped to ASC Shipyard in Adelaide, South Australia. HOBART is expected to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in December 2014.

“This ceremony represents the culmination of an exceptional effort to deliver a tested Aegis Weapon System for the Australia Air Warfare Destroyer,” said Rear Admiral Terry Benedict, Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems, U.S. Navy. “I want to congratulate the AWD Team, both in Australia and in the United States, on this significant achievement.”

“We are so pleased to be a part of this international effort,” said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Surface/Sea-based Missile Defense business based in Moorestown. “The Lockheed Martin team, along with our U.S. Navy and Australian industry partners, the Defense Materiel Organization, Raytheon Australia and ASC Shipbuilding, continue to deliver the world’s finest combat system to our customers, and that makes all of us very proud to be part of this program.”

The Aegis system enables destroyers to engage simultaneous threats from under the sea, the surface and the air. The 92 Aegis-equipped ships currently in service around the globe have more than 950 years of at-sea operational experience and have launched more than 3,500 missiles in tests and real-world operations. In addition to the U.S. and Australia, Aegis is the maritime weapon system of choice for Japan, Norway, South Korea and Spain.


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