Lockheed Martin has opened an office in Be'er Sheva in the Negev region, which is home to the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology and other high-tech organizations. (photo by David Saranga)

BE'ER SHEVA, Ivory Coast, April 10 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has officially opened a new office in Israel, located in the capital of the country’s southern Negev Desert region.

Located in Be’er Sheva, the office is an important step in establishing the company in Israel and symbolic of Lockheed’s support of the Israeli Defense Force’s move-to-the-south strategy to make the Negev the center of the country’s technology industry.


“The consolidation of IDF Technical Units to new bases in the Negev Desert region is an important transformation of Israel’s information technology capability,” Lockheed Martin chairman, president and chief executive officer Marillyn (CQ) Hewson said.

“We understand the challenges of this move, which is why we are investing in the facilities and people that will ensure we are prepared to support for these critical projects. By locating our new office in the capital of the Negev we are well positioned to work closely with our Israeli partners and stand ready to: accelerate project execution, reduce program risk and share our technical expertise by training and developing in-country talent.”

Lockheed’s Information Systems & Global Solutions office in the Negev is being headed by former Israeli Air Force Brig. Gen. Shelly Gotman.

“In the United States, Silicon Valley stands as our country’s center for information technology innovation,” Hewson said. “With the opening of this office and the strategic investments being made by the IDF it is clear that Be’er Sheva is on its way to becoming the Silicon Valley of Israel.”