MOORESTOWN, NJ, 30-JUN-00 -- Brian LaRoche, program manager at Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems (NE&SS)-Surface Systems in Moorestown, N.J., last week received the Lockheed Martin NOVA Award, the Corporation's highest recognition for individual or team achievements. A resident of Middletown, N.J., LaRoche represented the CVN 77 Capture Team at the Lockheed Martin Corporation Nova Awards ceremony held at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. on June 23. LaRoche joined 49 other individuals and team representatives receiving NOVA Awards.

The CVN 77 Capture Team is made up of 25 employees from four Lockheed Martin companies, including NE&SS-Surface Systems, NE&SS-Undersea Systems in Manassas, Va., NE&SS-Tactical Systems in Eagan, Minn., and Sanders, a Lockheed Martin company, in Nashua, N.H.

Other local members of the team include Stephanie Bailey, senior program cost accountant, a resident of Palmyra; Fotis Koubiadis, senior member engineering staff, of Mt. Laurel; Jerald Nespor, principal member engineering staff, from Medford; as well as Frank Folly, program manager, and Douglas W. Straley, manager, cost accounting, both from Mt. Holly.

CVN 77 is the U.S. Navy's transitional aircraft carrier that will be designed to provide a sound technological foundation and a bridge to the future class of aircraft carriers - CVNX. The CVN 77 Capture Team received a NOVA Award for Teamwork in recognition of its experience, customer and program knowledge that netted the successful capture of the CVN 77 Concept Definition and Warfare System Development contract.

The CVN 77 Team was nominated for the NOVA Award by Joseph D. Antinucci, president of Lockheed Martin NE&SS and Robert B. Coutts, executive vice president of the Lockheed Martin Systems Integration business area, of which NE&SS and Sanders are part. Lockheed Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vance D. Coffman and President and Chief Operating Officer Louis R. Hughes presented the awards.

CVN 77 is an exciting program for the Navy and the Lockheed Martin team, said NE&SS President Joseph D. Antinucci. It is the first major program to benefit from the impressive synergies and outstanding value Lockheed Martin provides to our customers.

The members of the CVN 77 Team and the other NOVA Award honorees represent an extraordinary level of individual and collective achievement that earns customer satisfaction, builds shareholder value and enhances Lockheed Martin's reputation, Coutts said. Talented people such as these set Lockheed Martin apart from its competitors and enable our Corporation to grow as we successfully take on some of the world's most complex technical challenges.

The NOVA Award program was established in 1995, upon Lockheed Martin's formation, to recognize outstanding contributions to the Corporation's mission and business objectives. Awards are made annually in four categories - Exceptional Service, Leadership, Teamwork, and Technical Excellence - to 50 individuals or teams selected from Lockheed Martin's 140,000 employees.

NE&SS-Surface Systems is one of six major operating sites in the Lockheed Martin NE&SS business segment. NE&SS provides surface ship and submarine combat systems, antisubmarine warfare and ocean surveillance systems, missile launching systems, radar and sensor systems, ship systems integration services and other advanced systems and services to customers worldwide. It is the largest business organization in the Lockheed Martin Systems Integration business area.