F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Manager to Discuss Program’s Economic Impact on Metroplex

RICHARDSON, Texas (Sept. 24, 2003) – A
leading official of Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. on Oct. 7 will discuss how the
biggest defense program in U.S. history, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, is likely to
impact the Metroplex. The presentation will take place at 8 a.m. in Room 2.102 of the south wing
of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas
(UTD).

In the two years since the JSF program was awarded
to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the company has added more than 4,000 people to its workforce. The
program, which could run as long as 40 years, is expected to add $44.9 billion in personal income
and $12.2 billion in retail sales, according to a study prepared for by the Fort Worth Chamber of
Commerce by The Perryman Group of Waco.

The speaker Oct. 7 will be Tom Burbage, executive vice
president and general manager of the JSF project for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. His presentation
will be free and open to the public. There will be a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

“We are very excited to see a component of a national
high technology powerhouse, Lockheed Martin, having a profound regional presence,” said Dr.
Da Hsuan Feng, vice president for research and graduate education at UTD. “The JSF program will
be the source of a new economy for the DFW area.”

Burbage has served on active duty in the United States
Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander, and he retired from the Navy Reserves as a captain.
He has been involved with the company’s Washington operations and coordinated relationships with
the Department of Defense and the U.S. Congress, as well as with the embassies of foreign governments.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program seeks to provide
the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force
with an affordable and stealthy tactical aircraft for the 21st century. The F-35 JSF Program is estimated
to produce a total of 2,593 aircraft for the United States’ and the United Kingdom’s armed forces.
The F-35 is a stealthy, supersonic multi-role fighter designed to replace a wide range of aging fighter
and strike aircraft.

About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart
of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor,
enrolls more than 13,600 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront
of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment
of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please
visit the university’s Web site at http://www.utdallas.edu/.