SUNNYVALE, CA, 02-MAY-00 -- Two U.S. Navy Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missiles (FBM), built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems -- Missiles & Space Operations, Sunnyvale, CA, were successfully flown in a test conducted April 30, from the USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) at the Eastern Test Range off the Florida coast. The test was one in a continuing series of operational evaluation tests conducted by the Navy to monitor the safety, reliability, readiness and performance of the Trident II D5 Strategic Weapon System.

The two missiles represented the 88th and 89th consecutive successful launches of the Trident II D5 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) and continue the string of successful test flights that began in December 1989. No other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle in the world has amassed such a remarkable record of mission success.

These missiles truly exemplify this Corporation's commitment to Mission Success and the entire FBM team's total dedication to engineering excellence, said Steve Parsons, Missiles & Space vice president, Strategic Missile Programs.

Trident II D5 is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertial-guided submarine launched ballistic missile. It is 44.5 ft in length, 83 inches in diameter, weighs 130,000 lbs., has a range greater than 4000 nautical miles, and carries up to eight Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs).

Trident II D5, the sixth generation of fleet ballistic missile developed by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Navy, is presently deployed in the Atlantic Ocean. The U.S. Navy plans to deploy the D5 missile system into the Pacific SSBN fleet over the next several years.

The Navy selected Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space as its prime missile contractor in 1956. Since then, the FBM team has produced the Polaris (A1), Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3), Poseidon (C3), Trident I (C4) and the Trident II (D5) missile.

The U.S. Navy has purchased 372 Trident II D5 missiles since initial production began in 1987.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems -- Missiles & Space Operations, Sunnyvale, CA, is an operating company within Lockheed Martin Space Systems, headquartered in Denver, CO. It is a world leader in the design, production and integration of systems for space-based telecommunications, defensive and strategic missiles, remote sensing and space science. Its diversified business base ranges from the U.S. government to global commercial customers through its operating unit, Commercial Space Systems.