High marks for Lockheed Aeronautics

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin's aircraft programs received a Maturity Level 3 rating in an industry best-practices assessment.

The company said it was given the Level 3 rating following against the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development, or CMMI-DEV version 1.2, following an extensive audit of the company's major aircraft programs by Systems and Software Consortium, Inc.

"Maintaining our Maturity Level 3 rating demonstrates Lockheed Martin's commitment to continuously improving our program execution, customer satisfaction levels and ability to deliver high-quality products," said Dan Crowley, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

CMMI-DEV is a process model reflecting industry best practices for product development and process improvement. It was developed by the Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, a federally funded research and development center.

Lockheed said the evaluation covered process management, project management, engineering and support process areas.

Lockheed Aeronautics said this is the second consecutive time it achieved the Level 3 rating based on processes in its F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, F-22 Raptor, F-16 Fighting Falcon, C-130J Super Hercules and Advanced Development Programs.