CITY, ST, 26-FEB-01 -- Lockheed Martin Corporation of the U.S. and Absolute Communications Ltd. of New Zealand today announced the signing of a teaming agreement, which calls for Lockheed Martin to provide software and technical program management support to the on-going U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) program. The agreement represents Lockheed Martin's formal entry into the integrated fisheries surveillance systems market. The VMS program uses satellite-based vessel transponder systems and integrated databases to enhance tracking and surveillance of fishing boats on the open seas. Lockheed Martin of Syracuse, New York will utilize Absolute Communications' software tracking application, SmartTrac, to directly support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement regional systems and national program. SmartTrac already is used as the common base station monitoring software for the Hawaii, Alaska, and Southeast (Florida) VMS programs. Additional installations, by Lockheed Martin, are expected in 2001.

Lockheed Martin also will integrate SmartTrac into its own marine traffic management system, MTM100, for vessel tracking applications elsewhere in the world. The installed MTM100 base already includes customers in Asia, South America, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Both companies will assist each other in business development, strategic program marketing and the pursuit of new opportunities in the vessel surveillance market.

The SmartTrac software application already covers a large percentage of the world's fishing fleets, and we are looking forward to offering it as an option in our integrated vessel traffic systems elsewhere in the world as well, said Elton Schroeder, Lockheed Martin's director, marine traffic management. With this agreement, we are extremely happy to add the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to our list of customers.

Absolute Communications Ltd., headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand, is a privately held company specializing in tracking solutions for vehicle and vessel fleet operators. It is the world's largest supplier of Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking software for use in fisheries surveillance, with installations in Malaysia, Australia, the South Pacific, and elsewhere.

The Lockheed Martin unit in Syracuse, New York, employs 2,100 people and is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation.