MAASTRICHT, NETHERLANDS, 20-FEB-01 -- Lockheed Martin today announced at ATC Maastricht that its first commercial air traffic control radars will be used for airport surveillance at several sites in Colombia. The Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Radar Systems (NE&SS) facility in Syracuse will build three terminal airport surveillance radars and provide a fourth secondary surveillance radar. The contract, valued at $15 million, provides for radar installation at the airport in Leticia in southern Columbia in addition to installations on three mountains, plus all required civil works. All of the radars will be installed and operating within 24 months of contract signing.

The customer for the radar systems is the Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronautica Civil de Colombia, which is the civil aeronautics branch of the Colombian Ministry of Transportation. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Cooperation Bureau, operating under the auspices of the United Nations, was the procuring agent and will manage the contract.

With this win, we are officially in the civilian air traffic control radar business, said Richard Schubert, v.p., radar/sensor systems. We are excited about bringing our vast radar experience to new customers and will be pursuing other international opportunities enthusiastically.

NE&SS-Syracuse entered the military air traffic control radar business in 2000 with a $60 million contract award from the U.S. Marine Corps. The Air Surveillance and Precision Approach Radar Control System (ASPARCS) program provides a lightweight, mobile radar to enhance all-weather landing capabilities.

A leader in the design, development and integration of radar systems, vessel traffic management, simulation and training systems, and other complex electronic systems, Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Radar Systems 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-Radar Systems employs approximately 2,000 people at its Syracuse, N.Y., headquarters and is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation.