MARIETTA, Ga., July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lockheed Martin delivered the first of 10 new Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) outer wings on July 28 for installation on a CP-140 Aurora for the Government of Canada. These wings will be installed by IMP Aerospace, a Lockheed Martin P-3 service center located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Canada operates a fleet of 18 CP-140 Aurora aircraft playing a critical role in search and rescue, littoral/overland surveillance, economic zone and shipping lane protection, submarine detection and anti-terrorism. The aircraft are based on the P-3 Orion airframe.

The MLU program replaces the outer wings, center wing lower surface, horizontal stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer leading edges with all new material. All necessary fatigue-life limiting structure is replaced and new alloys are used with a five-fold increase in corrosion resistance to provide significantly reduced maintenance and sustainment costs. The MLU will extend the structural service life of the CP-140 up to 15,000 hours and adds 20 years of operational use.

"The Government of Canada's MLU program reinforces our commitment to support the CP-140s for the long-term," said Ray Burick, Lockheed Martin P-3 Program vice president. "We are also proud to partner with IMP Aerospace for the installation of the MLU on the Auroras."

"As Canada's CP-140 In Service Support contractor, IMP is very pleased to continue our long-term partnership with Lockheed Martin, while upgrading this critical and strategic fleet for the Canadian Forces," said David Gossen, president of IMP Aerospace.

The all-new production wings are the cornerstone of the P-3 MLU program. Lockheed Martin has 52 MLU kits under contract with six operators from four nations. To date, a total of nine MLU kits have been delivered to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Norway, Canada and Taiwan.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 136,000 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 2009 sales from continuing operations were $44.5 billion.

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com

SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

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