“The first group of nine satellites is expected to launch in April of 2027.”

In context

“n could happen as soon as April. The U.S. Air Force awarded space a nearly $1 billion contract to develop a new reentry vehicle for the Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. The reentry vehicle or Mk21A will be mounted on top to Sentinel. The award follows a technology maturation and risk reduction contract and the ICBM recapitalization contributes to modernizing strategic deterrents and reinforcing Lockheed Martin's critical technological contributions to the nuclear triad. And last week, the Space Development Agency announced Lockheed Martin was awarded an almost $900 million contract for Tranche 2 Tracking Layer to provide 18 small sats, 16 of those space vehicles are for missile warning and tracking and two space vehicles are for missile defense infrared sensors to be on board. The first group of nine satellites is expected to launch in April of 2027. A lot going on at Lockheed Martin, all of our operations. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Jay and join you later for questions. Jay Malave: Thanks, Jim, and good morning, everyone. Today, I will recap our fourth quarter and full-year 2023 financial results and provide our initial guidance for 2024. As I describe our results, please follow along with the web charts we have posted with our earnings release today. On Chart 4, we'll start with the fourth quarter results for consolidated sales and segment operating profit. We had a better-than-expected close to the year, nearly matching last year's record fourth quarter. Sales exceeded internal expectations by close to $1 billion, with the improvement largely due to material throughput, leading to a less than 1% year-over-year declin”