Lockheed Martin,
ARCHBALD, PA: Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force recently qualified an upgraded version of its Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) through comprehensive flight testing to meet current U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy joint performance specifications.
The qualification followed extensive joint service testing in accordance with the services' performance requirements. By incorporating a variety of Lockheed Martin's continuous product improvement initiatives, the updated LGB improves reliability and accuracy through subsystem performance improvements.
“This upgrade is a successful follow-on to our original, combat-proven design,” said John Pericci, business development director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The upgraded LGB was qualified after completing a rigorous flight test program. Although these tests challenged the capabilities of the GBU-10 airframe, Lockheed Martin exceeded requirements.”
Lockheed Martin is currently in production of the GBU-10, -12 and -16 for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and international customers.
Building on the successful performance of the Paveway II, Lockheed Martin was selected by the U.S. Navy to provide the next-generation precision-guided munitions to the fleet. The Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb (DMLGB) combines fire-and-forget GPS/INS guidance with Semi-Active Laser (SAL) terminal guidance technology, providing ultimate flexibility to the warfighter. Consistent with Lockheed Martin's mission of providing a best value solution, the Lockheed Martin Paveway II LGBs are easily upgradeable to include dual mode capability.
“Lockheed Martin continues to incorporate product refinements to address changes in weapon deployment and achieve the desire for precision,” said Cynthia Sailar, vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control facility in Archbald, PA. “Our portfolio of air-to-ground precision guided systems, live-fire trainers and mission readiness test sets provide a flexible and affordable end-to-end solution for our domestic and international customers.”
In addition to the Paveway II LGB and DMLGB precision guided systems, Lockheed Martin designs and manufactures a COTS-based Laser Guided Training Round (LGTR) that represents an economical, effective, precision air-to-ground training system. For the past fifteen years, the Navy has employed the LGTR to further enhance the air-to-ground capability of the fleet.
Lockheed Martin's 350,000-square-foot facility located in Northeastern Pennsylvania also designs and manufactures specialized instrumentation and control systems and provides manufacturing services such as state-of-the-art metal crafting and electro-mechanical assemblies.
Lockheed Martin's facility in Archbald was awarded the 2005 Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence. Referred to by BusinessWeek magazine as the “Nobel prize of manufacturing”, the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing is awarded annually to companies that demonstrate world-class business results through the implementation of Lean Manufacturing principles and practices. The Archbald facility was also nominated one of 25 finalists of North America's Best Plant competition in the July 2005 issue of Industry Week magazine.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.
