SYRACUSE, NY, December 13th, 1999 -- Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Syracuse (NE&SS-Syracuse) today announced that its Systems Engineering and Systems Integration and Test teams have attained a Systems Engineering Capability Model (SECM) Level 3+ rating. NE&SS-Syracuse is only the second Lockheed Martin company to attain both SECM Level 3 and Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Level 5 in the same year. NE&SS-Syracuse President Mike Smith said, "This recognition of our systems engineering excellence will increase customer confidence in our business and, as a result, provide more job security and growth. I very much appreciate the hard work by the NE&SS-Syracuse team that brought us to this milestone today."

This is the first time NE&SS-Syracuse was appraised using the SECM model, which it formally embraced in 1998.

"We've been process focused for a long time and have achieved steady productivity improvement," said Paul Goulette, director of systems engineering, "but we hadn't been structured to a single model before SECM."

In a 10-day appraisal ending December 10, Software Productivity Consortium of Vernon, Va., led a team that conducted interviews and reviewed organization and program-specific evidence to determine a rating in each of 18 focus areas following the Electronics Industry Alliance Interim Standard, EIA/IS-731. The objective of the appraisal was not only to identify the strengths in NE&SS-Syracuse's engineering process but also to identify its highest priorities for improvement. Requirements for attaining SECM Levels 4 and 5 were discussed in the same meeting that the Level 3+ rating was announced.

"Today we are taking time to celebrate attaining our challenging goal of reaching Level 3+," said Donna Saucier, manager of systems integration and test, "but in a few days we will meet to discuss our next goals and develop plans for continued process improvement."

A leader in ground-based and airborne radar, surface vessel and submarine electronic warfare, minehunting systems and vessel traffic management, Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Syracuse serves customers including all branches of the U.S. armed forces, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Transportation and State, and defense and transportation departments of countries on six continents. NE&SS-Syracuse employs approximately 2,000 people at its Syracuse, N.Y., headquarters and is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products and services. The corporation's core businesses are systems integration, space, aeronautics, and technology services.