Lockheed Martin’s top executive hosted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman, at the company’s Sunnyvale, California site on April 5.
Sunnyvale is home to many of the company’s satellite programs as well as technologies for missile defense, solar array production and advanced research and development.
The Crown Prince and Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, toured advanced technologies for both air and missile defense and satellite communications. The visit included key elements of the THAAD system and a tour of the satellite assembly and test facility where Lockheed Martin is building two communications satellites for Arabsat and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
“For more than 50 years, we have been proud to partner for the national security and economic growth of Saudi Arabia,” Hewson said.
“That’s why it was a special honor to host His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman at our Space facility here in Silicon Valley. During the visit, he saw firsthand the powerful and innovative satellites being built for Arabsat, which will enhance the Kingdom's technological capabilities. He also met the Saudi engineers who have worked side-by-side with our Lockheed Martin engineers to learn satellite assembly, integration, and test skills. And, together, we celebrated what these efforts will mean for building Saudi Arabia's future space industry and for increasing economic opportunity and job creation throughout the Kingdom,” she added.
In 2015 Arabsat and KACST awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for two LM 2100-based satellites: Arabsat-6A and Hellas-Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1. The two satellites will provide advanced telecommunications capabilities, including television, internet, telephone and secure communications, to important government users and commercial customers in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Both satellites are slated for delivery in 2018.
Lockheed Martin has had a presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 1965 with the first delivery of the C-130 Hercules. Since then, the company has continued to work to expand its footprint in the Kingdom in integrated air and missile defense systems, tactical and rotary wing technologies, maritime systems and satellite communications. The company’s presence is supported by training initiatives that encourage and train the next generation of Saudi talent - ensuring the sustainability of the aerospace and defense industry and to support the Kingdom's Vision 2030 objectives.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
