MOORESTOWN, NJ, 01/03/2008 -- The Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers recently recognized Lockheed Martin's [NYSE: LMT] Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) program with its Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award.

The annual award recognizes engineering projects that demonstrate innovative solutions, communicate the importance of the engineering profession to society, and provide a clear benefit to the Delaware Valley Region.

The Lockheed Martin team – comprised of more than 300 engineers employed at the company'sMoorestown facility – was recognized for developing a critical solution to a complex engineering challenge. During the past three years, Lockheed Martin engineers designed, developed, deployed and successfully tested the Aegis BMD Weapon System, in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, to defend the United States and its allies against medium and short-range ballistic missile threats. The Aegis BMD program recently became the first certified element of the United States' ballistic missile defense system.

To achieve this unprecedented milestone, Lockheed Martin engineers had to modify shipboard radars to detect and track objects in space, develop a weapon system computing infrastructure to track and target ballistic missiles and guide missile interceptors, and implement a command and decision system to control tactical actions and communications. In 2007, Aegis BMD completed four tests against increasingly complex threats. The tests included simultaneous engagement against a ballistic missile in space and an anti-ship cruise missile, and simultaneous engagement against two ballistic missiles.

Through engineering rigor, innovative design and outstanding performance, the team has truly set the standard for missile defense engineering, explained Jeff Johnson, Lockheed Martin's technical director for the program. We are honored to receive this award from the society.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD , Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.