Clearwater, Florida – Smiths Aerospace has been awarded a ten-year contract worth a potential value of more than $47 million to provide performance-based logistics (PBL) in support of the Power Distribution System on the F-22 aircraft. The work is taking place at Smiths’ facilities in Michigan and Florida beginning in October 2006.

Dr. John Ferrie, President, Smiths Aerospace commented, “Our integrated support processes enable us to provide our customers with total product life cycle cost management solutions. This is a core strength for Smiths and it is an area where we plan continued growth.”

The contract has been awarded by Lockheed Martin and supports the U.S. Air Force fleet of F-22 aircraft through the year 2015. The contract is the first PBL awarded for support of the newest aircraft in the USAF fleet. This contract will provide guaranteed levels of support for aircraft stationed at Nellis, Tyndall, Langley, Elmendorf and Edwards Air Force bases.

Smiths Aerospace was one of the first aerospace companies to introduce PBL programs in 1997 with a program to support the RAF Hercules SCNS (Self-Contained Navigation System). This was quickly followed by a second RAF support PBL, this time to guarantee the availability of LRU displays for the Tornado GR4. Smiths also has one of the first U.S. Navy PBLs, a fifteen year firm fixed price contract signed in 1998, for the Stores Management System (SMS) on the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 and AV-8B aircraft. Under the program Smiths Aerospace manages the inventory for some 450 different spares, along with forecasting requirements, managing unit repairs and transportation and is responsible for managing component obsolescence. This was followed earlier this year by PBL awards for the F/A-18 Stores Management System Upgrade (SMUG) and the SH-60 Tip-to-Tail wins.

The F-22 is the Air Force’s newest aircraft designed to deliver affordable air superiority. The combination of supersonic speed and stealth is proving to be a real differentiator in air battle exercises to date.

Smiths Aerospace, a part of Smiths Group, is a leading transatlantic aerospace systems and equipment company, with more than $2.3 billion revenue and 11,000 employees globally. The company holds key positions in the supply chains of all major military and civil aircraft and engine manufacturers and is a world-leader in digital, electrical power, mechanical systems, engine components and Systems Customer Services. www.geaviationsystems.com

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