FORT WORTH, Texas, March 25th, 1998 -- Lockheed Martin's fighter plant in Fort Worth, Texas, recently became the first major aircraft manufacturer and aerospace company to be recommended for Aerospace Standard (AS) 9000 recognition. AS 9000 is an aerospace-specific outgrowth of the ISO 9001 international quality standard.

Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems is now using ISO 9001 in lieu of military quality standards, as part of the company's effort to support the Department of Defense's acquisition reform initiative and prepare for future phases of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. AS 9000 includes the 20 basic elements of ISO 9001, plus an additional 30 requirements unique to aerospace manufacturing.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) recommended the Fort Worth facility for AS 9000 certification following its recent ISO 9001 continuing assessment audit of the company. In the audit conducted March 2-6, BSI reaffirmed that Tactical Aircraft Systems meets all the requirements of ISO 9001, while citing a number of manufacturing and administrative practices at the company as exemplary.

Stewart Thackray, lead auditor for the British Standards Institution, said, "The results of this audit demonstrate Lockheed Martin's leadership role in advancing quality system concepts by implementing rather than flowing down quality requirements. Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems not only walks the walk, but sets the pace. They are to be congratulated."

"We are proud of our status as an ISO 9001 facility and believe the use of this universally recognized quality standard is an important part of our commitment to be a reliable, affordable supplier of advanced fighter aircraft," said Bob Rearden, vice president of Operations at Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems. "It is even more gratifying to be recognized as the leader in our industry with the implementation of advanced quality practices and the qualification to AS 9000."

Unlike ISO 9001, the AS 9000 standard has been endorsed by the Federal Aviation Administration, because of the additional aerospace unique requirements. Tactical Aircraft Systems specializes in military aircraft, but the company intends to use commercially based practices and standards in any areas where they might lead to cost savings on future projects.

When it received its original ISO 9001 certification from BSI in 1996, Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems became the first major fighter aircraft manufacturer in the United States to have its ISO 9001 status affirmed by an outside entity. Shortly afterward, the company won approval of a Single Process Initiative "block change" proposal to convert all its contracts to the ISO 9001 standard.

Tactical Aircraft Systems produces the F-16 for the U.S. Air Force and a number of international customers, and is leading the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter team. The company also produces the F-22's mid-fuselage section, is responsible for various subsystems of the air dominance fighter, and is participating in the production of Japan's F-2 fighter, among other projects. Tactical Aircraft Systems is considered the home of Lockheed Martin's Fighter Enterprise.