ORLANDO, FL, February 16, 2010 – AgustaWestland has awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $49.5 million sustainment and support contract for the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (TADS/PNVS) and Modernized TADS/PNVS (M-TADS/PNVS) systems on the U.K. Apache AH Mk-1 aircraft.

The contract provides complete post-production services, including spare parts, in-country repair and technical services, as well as integrated logistics, engineering and depot repair support. The effort is part of the overall Integrated Operational Support (IOS) solution for the U.K. Apache fleet provided by AgustaWestland to the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD). Support under the contract will continue through March 2014.

“This support contract will provide the necessary services to maintain the M-TADS/PNVS system in support of U.K. Apache operational needs,” said Tom Eldredge, Apache Fire Control International programs director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Our team is in position and is providing a cost-effective support solution that meets the needs of the Soldiers.”

For AgustaWestland, the support arrangement is a strategy for TADS/PNVS and M-TADS/PNVS product support that helps enable their overall IOS objective of an integrated performance package designed to optimize system readiness. The AgustaWestland IOS contract enables faster and more efficient technical solutions because the contractor assumes responsibility for total performance of a weapon system.

“The Apache is proving itself as one of the great success stories of defense procurement,” said Graham Cole, managing director at AgustaWestland. “The M-TADS/PNVS is making a very real operational difference in theater.”

The support contract will support both the legacy TADS/PNVS and Modernized TADS/PNVS through the end of the upgrade and integration process. Support activities will be performed in the U.K. and Orlando, FL.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 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 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.