08:07 GMT, December 2, 2009 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) announced today that it will leverage its capabilities for the Development and Sustainment Contract for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system and associated facilities in the competitive acquisition that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency intends to conduct.

“Lockheed Martin welcomes the opportunity to apply our talent and experience to a broader set of requirements for this important missile defense system,” said retired Major Gen. John W. Holly, vice president, Missile Defense Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

The scope for the GMD Development and Sustainment Contract acquisition announced by the agency Nov. 25 includes “future development; fielding; test; systems engineering, integration and configuration management; equipment manufacturing and refurbishment; training; and operations and sustainment support.” The announcement explained that this represents “significant requirements beyond GMD operations and logistics support,” which the agency previously had announced as the potential scope.

“Lockheed Martin’s solid mission understanding and domain expertise will assure a seamless transition in supporting and extending the life of this crucial fielded weapon system,” continued Holly. “Our credentials include more than 30 years of experience in midcourse missile defense development, production and testing, more than 50 years of experience in strategic weapon system operations and sustainment, and award-winning PBL expertise.”

Through PBL, Lockheed Martin ranks as one of the few corporations in the world that can reliably deliver a given level of system availability. “We accomplish this by providing high value-added services and products, solving hard problems, and providing outstanding customer service,” said Lou Kratz, vice president of Logistics & Sustainment, Lockheed Martin. “Lockheed Martin is committed to assuring effective mission outcomes through strong partnerships with our government customers. We look forward to the opportunity to combine the best of government and industry, assuring consistent, performance-based outcomes for our war fighters across the GMD life cycle.”