ROCKVILLE, MD, 05/08/2000 -- Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management (LMATM) and Airways New Zealand have signed a 10-year partnership agreement to modernize New Zealand airspace management and establish a technology center of excellence to support the partners' shared vision of global air traffic management. BodyThe world's first fully commercialized Air Navigation Services (ANS) organization, Airways provides air navigation services to New Zealand and surrounding oceanic airspace and offers its experience, advice and support to countries around the world. LMATM is a global leader in air traffic management, currently responsible for systems that daily control over 60 percent of the world's air traffic from more than 220 air traffic control centers.

Under the agreement, signed in Christchurch, New Zealand, on May 4 and in Rockville, Maryland, today, Lockheed Martin will replace the current New Zealand air traffic control system, including three area control centers and 17 tower systems, with its SkyLine air traffic management solution. Lockheed Martin will also establish an Asia/Pacific software development and operational testing center in Christchurch and help Airways develop and implement a 10-year modernization plan. In addition, the partners agreed to jointly pursue global opportunities in airspace management and Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) technology modernization.

Commenting on the announcement, LMATM President Don Antonucci said, Within 10 years we expect air traffic management to be provided on a global basis by four to six alliances. With this agreement, we will be an integral part of one of those alliances, providing seamless, efficient air traffic management to airline customers around the world.

Antonucci continued, This partnership combines Airways' proven commercial and operational expertise with Lockheed Martin's technological edge and experience in providing systems that manage the world's most complex skies. As we work together to implement a new system in New Zealand and plan and implement other technology projects, we will be laying the groundwork for future efforts that we will jointly pursue in global air traffic management.

The partnership will see an injection of technological excellence into New Zealand's air traffic management industry, said Airways' Chief Executive Craig Sinclair. Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management is the world's leading provider of air traffic management solutions, he said. By joining forces, we are consolidating Airways' position as a leader in our field, and setting new levels of aviation excellence on an international scale.

The software development facility in Christchurch offers considerable benefits, said Sinclair. Our access to Lockheed Martin's international expertise provides the opportunity to develop and use world-class software development practices, and to influence product development for the international market. We expect to work on research and development together and support contracts in the Asia/Pacific region.

The partnership follows the announcement in September 1999 of an alliance between the two companies to compete for a major tender for the replacement of the US Federal Aviation Administration's oceanic system.

Airways New Zealand is a leader in applying advanced technology developed specifically for the oceanic environment. It is the first company in the world to operate an oceanic control system that uses the latest computer and satellite technology to enable aircraft to fly over oceans using the most efficient routes.

Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management, based in Rockville, Maryland, USA, is a business unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Its primary customers are civil aviation authorities in Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom.