Lockheed Martin

By 2000, America's largest weapons manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, may be as familiar to social service bureaucrats as it is to the Pentagon's top brass. If the company's strategy succeeds, Lockheed Martin will not only be a major aerospace manufacturer but also a leading dispenser of public assistance to America's neediest citizens.The company's split personality is already evident in Maryland, where a division of the company, Lockheed Martin IMS, operates the nation's largest privatized child support office in Baltimore (and another in Queen Anne's County)

Defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman said Thursday that they've won a $91 million contract for radars to be used on Saudi Arabia's Apache attack helicopters. Northrop Grumman said its share of the Longbow work would be handled from its electronic systems division in Linthicum. Lockheed Martin is based in Bethesda. The companies said the contract is for Longbow Fire Control Radars for the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command and the Saudi Arabia National Guard, spares and support for the aviation command and Longbow mast mounted assemblies for the U.S. Army.

Defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman said Thursday that they've won a $91 million contract for radars to be used on Saudi Arabia's Apache attack helicopters. Northrop Grumman said its share of the Longbow work would be handled from its electronic systems division in Linthicum. Lockheed Martin is based in Bethesda. The companies said the contract is for Longbow Fire Control Radars for the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command and the Saudi Arabia National Guard, spares and support for the aviation command and Longbow mast mounted assemblies for the U.S. Army.

Rep. Donna F. Edwards slipped into the F-35 cockpit - a stationary demonstration model - and gave the jet a simulated spin, trying out the controls, shooting down enemy aircraft over the Chesapeake Bay and executing a celebratory roll. "This feels so cool ," said Edwards, a Prince George's County Democrat. "OK, let's land this thing - give somebody else a chance. " This hands-on version of show and tell, held in Linthicum on Thursday, is part of a public-relations campaign for the most expensive weapons program in the nation's history.

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $17 million contract to Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin to provide engineering design services for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System on two classes of ships. The MK 41 Launching System has been one of the main products made at Lockheed Martin's facility in Middle River. The contract includes options that could bring its total value to $104 million over four years. The work will be performed at facilities in Maryland and California. - Baltimore Sun staff

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. said Wednesday that it will lay off up to 95 employees in Greenbelt when a government contract expires in September. The employees affected are working on a multi-year contract with the National Archives and Records Administration to build a system for the agency's electronic records archive, a project now coming to an end. Lockheed said the layoffs, which could start in August and will finish by Sept. 30, will likely end up being less than the 95 total because it is working to place employees in other company jobs.

In a cost-cutting move, a logistics division of Lockheed Martin is moving from Johnstown, Pa., to Middle River, according to a company representative. The 78-person Global Supply Chain Services team was notified of the move Thursday, said Emily Caruso, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman. "Our goal is to make offers to all qualified employees willing to relocate," Caruso said. "We'll supplement that with local hiring. " Lockheed Martin is not renewing the lease on this division's workspace in Johnstown, a move that will save the company $1.6 million annually, she said.

Completion of the $10 billion merger between Martin Marietta Corp. and Lockheed Corp. makes Maryland the headquarters state for the nation's largest aerospace and defense company, a $23 billion behemoth whose new name, Lockheed Martin, echoes down through the decades of aviation history. Which company came out top dog in this deal is a matter of who you are and where you are.The corporate staffs for both companies, Martin in Bethesda and Lockheed in Calabasas, Calif., both comprised about 500 employees.

Divisions of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. won major contracts at opposite ends of the globe yesterday.Australia picked the company to help complete that nation's early warning radar system. And the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded Lockheed Martin $254 million for upgrading computer operations.The Australian project involves a joint venture with Transfield Defence Systems to manage the installation of two radar complexes, the Jindalee Operational Radar Network, which will guard Australia's northern coast.

They make missiles, warplanes and space vehicles, but no longer does Lockheed Martin Corp. supply a healthy percentage of the rocks and minerals used across the country in more Earth-bound construction work.The Bethesda defense giant announced yesterday that it had completed a stock swap that purged it of Martin Marietta Materials Inc., of Raleigh, N.C."Obviously, their core business is defense, and they decided to spin off this business to shareholders," said industry analyst Stuart McCutchan, who publishes a newsletter called Defense Mergers & Acquisitions.

Recession being the bane of piano retailers, it seems wholly remarkable that Harry Cohen and his son, Lou, decided to start selling Baldwins and Wurlitzers in 1937 - the year the economy relapsed toward the end of the Great Depression. But somehow the Cohens survived the recession of 1937 and 1938. In fact, the family business, founded in Philadelphia, thrived through three generations and extended into three states. Hundreds of families in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland bought new and used pianos from one of the Cohens over the years.

At this time of severe cutbacks in government funding for food stamps, early childhood education and Meals on Wheels, some Maryland legislators are hard at work looking out for the welfare of one of the world's wealthiest corporations. Under a bill advancing in the General Assembly, the Lockheed Martin Corp. would have the taxes on its luxurious Bethesda hotel and conference center reduced by approximately $450,000 a year. An earlier version of the legislation also included a $1.4 million refund for the period since 2010.

In a cost-cutting move, a logistics division of Lockheed Martin is moving from Johnstown, Pa., to Middle River, according to a company representative. The 78-person Global Supply Chain Services team was notified of the move Thursday, said Emily Caruso, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman. "Our goal is to make offers to all qualified employees willing to relocate," Caruso said. "We'll supplement that with local hiring. " Lockheed Martin is not renewing the lease on this division's workspace in Johnstown, a move that will save the company $1.6 million annually, she said.

Lockheed Martin Corp. is warning state regulators that it will lay off 35 employees based at five Maryland military facilities because a contract to provide services at those locations is not being renewed. The Bethesda-based defense contractor told the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation that layoffs would affect four employees based at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, two employees based at a Naval Observatory location in Montgomery County, 14 employees based at two Naval Support Activity locations in Maryland and 15 employees based at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River.

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. said Wednesday that it will lay off up to 95 employees in Greenbelt when a government contract expires in September. The employees affected are working on a multi-year contract with the National Archives and Records Administration to build a system for the agency's electronic records archive, a project now coming to an end. Lockheed said the layoffs, which could start in August and will finish by Sept. 30, will likely end up being less than the 95 total because it is working to place employees in other company jobs.

U.S. industry consumes more than one-third of the energy used nationwide, according to federal government data. That statistic is sobering, but it also represents an opportunity for industry innovation and leadership. We must plan for the future with forward-thinking approaches to energy sourcing and savings. When industry makes even relatively small strides toward energy efficiency, the results are significant. At large companies, shutting off computers when they aren't in use can reduce annual carbon footprints by tens of thousands of metric tons.

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $17 million contract to Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin to provide engineering design services for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System on two classes of ships. The MK 41 Launching System has been one of the main products made at Lockheed Martin's facility in Middle River. The contract includes options that could bring its total value to $104 million over four years. The work will be performed at facilities in Maryland and California. - Baltimore Sun staff