FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 3, 2012 - The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II program surpassed 5,000 flight hours last month. This milestone was reached by the combined F-35 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) aircraft flying at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and the training aircraft flying at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. All three variants, the F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL), the Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) and Carrier Variant (CV), participated in achievement of this goal. Since the program's first flight in December 2006, F-35s have flown 3,464 times. This total includes 91 flights from the original test aircraft, AA-1; 2,510 SDD test flights; and 863 production-model flights. For video highlights of the F-35 program, click here.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation's net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.
Lockheed Martin Corporation specializes in the design, manufacturing and marketing of aeronautic, submarine, and aerospace systems. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- sale of aeronautic systems (40.7%): military and civilian aircraft, primarily for government organizations;
- sale of helicopters, mission and electronic systems (24%): military and commercial helicopters, ships, sea and land-based missile defense systems, radars, sensors, sea and air-based mission and combat systems, training systems, cyber solutions, command, control and communication systems, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, simulation and training systems, etc.;
- sales of aerospace systems (18.7%): satellite systems, missile systems and space transport systems;
- sale of air defense and fire control systems (16.6%): air and missile defense systems, tactical missiles, precision strike weapons systems, fire control systems, etc. The group also offers support services for mission operations, preparation, technical support, integration services, etc.
Net sales break down by source of income into sales of products (83.3%) and services (16.7%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (74.3%), Europe (9.5%), Asia/Pacific (8.3%), Middle East (5.8%) and other (2.1%).