ORLANDO, FL, 08-MAR-05 --

Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] Sniper^® XR^® Advanced Targeting Pod program was honored for “lasting contributions to the advancement of aerospace” by Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, which named Sniper XR a 2004 honoree in its 48th Annual Laurels Selection competition.

The magazine reported “Sniper XR/Pantera has set an international benchmark for next-generation electro-optical targeting pod performance.”

The Sniper XR team was nominated for the Laurels 2004 award in the Information Technology/Electronics category. Representing the programs were Kenneth J. Fuhr, Sniper/PANTERA program director; Roger May, program technical director; Peter H. Fox, domestic business development manager; and John P. Schoeppner, Jr., international business development director.

Tom Simmons, vice president of Fire Control at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said, “In October 2004 Aviation Week & Space Technology reported that ‘soon the U.S. Air Force’s frontline F-16s, F-15Es and A-10s will be equipped with advanced targeting pods that see farther, display sharper, more detailed images – day or night – and enable more accurate weapons delivery.’ I am proud of our Sniper team’s passion for invention that resulted in a unique pod design with rock-steady stabilization that enables precision weapons employment at maximum ranges.”

Sniper XR pods are equipping U.S. Air Force F-15E, F-16 Block 50 and Air National Guard F-16 Block 30 aircraft. Follow-on procurements are expected to outfit the F-16 Block 40, F-15E and A-10 fleets. The U.S. Air Force is evaluating Sniper XR to fulfill targeting requirements for the B-1 and B-52 aircraft.

Winner of competitions in Norway, Poland and Oman, the PANTERA pod is currently competing to equip F/A-18 fighters in the Royal Australian Air Force and Canadian Forces.