The contract is one of several similarly sized contracts scheduled to be awarded to Missiles & Space Operations (M&SO) over the coming years for production of D5 missiles as part of the retrofit of four Trident Ohio-class submarines currently homeported at the Navy strategic submarine base in Bangor, Wash.

The contract also includes procurement of additional critical components needed to extend the operational service life of the highly successful Trident II D5 missile system.

"Lockheed Martin is pleased to be continuing production of the D5 missiles needed to outfit the remaining Trident II capable Ohio-class fleet ballistic missile submarines, " said Tom Morton, vice president, Lockheed Martin Strategic Missile Programs. "We are also extremely gratified that the government has decided at this critical time to moved forward with the strategically important D5 LE program."

The 12 missiles will support operational deployments of Trident Ohio-class submarines, including the USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730), USS Alabama (SSBN-731), USS Alaska (SSBN-732), and USS Nevada (SSBN-733), which are being converted to carry Trident II D5 missiles. These submarines currently carry Trident I C4 missiles.

Production of the missiles will begin in 2002, with an expected delivery to the Navy in 2004. Since serial production began in 1987, the U.S. Navy has purchased 396 Trident II D5 submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

Under the D5 service life extension portion of the award are additional rocket motors and other critical components, which are required to support the higher D5 missile inventory objective associated with the U.S. Navy's 1998 decision to extend the Trident Ohio-class submarine's service life from 30 to 44 years.

Also included is re-qualification of production sources for materials previously bought out to the 30-year service life missile inventory objective. The D5 service life extension is expected to make the D5 missile operationally viable until 2040.

Recently, a D5 missile was successfully flown in a test conducted at the Eastern Test Range off the Florida coast. This missile represented the 94th consecutive successful launch of the Trident II D5 missile and continues the string of successful test launches that began in December 1989. No other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle in the world has demonstrated such a remarkable record of launch success.

The Navy selected Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space as its prime contractor and missile manufacturer in 1955. Since then, the FBM team has produced six successive generations of Fleet Ballistic Missiles-Polaris (A1), Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3), Poseidon (C3), Trident I (C4) and the Trident II (D5).

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