Gulfstream Appoints Sumi Fonseka General Manager of London-Luton Service Center

May 9, 2008
As Luton’s general manager, Fonseka will handle the facility’s daily operations and anticipate the needs of Gulfstream customers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

SAVANNAH, Ga., May 2008 – Gulfstream Aerospace, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has appointed Sumi Fonseka general manager of the company’s Luton Service Center, located at the London-Luton Airport in England. He will report to Mark Burns, vice president, customer support.

As Luton’s general manager, Fonseka will handle the facility’s daily operations and anticipate the needs of Gulfstream customers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Last year, London-Luton provided service to more than 900 Gulfstream aircraft.

Before this appointment, Fonseka was the senior hangar operations manager at the new South Service Center in Savannah. He joined Gulfstream in 1998 as an avionics supervisor for the Savannah Service Center and later became the avionics group manager. Prior to joining Gulfstream, Fonseka served as the avionics manager with Atlantic Aviation in Wilmington, Del., where he worked for 10 years. Fonseka earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation technology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) license as well as a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) radiotelephone operator license.

Fonseka succeeds Frank Defelice in this appointment. Defelice is returning to Savannah after three years in London-Luton. He will assist in further developing Gulfstream’s international product support network.

The Gulfstream London-Luton Service Center became part of the award-winning Gulfstream product support network five years ago. Since then, the facility has doubled in size. It meets the maintenance needs of European and Middle Eastern business-jet owners. Gulfstream Luton provides comprehensive service for current Gulfstream models – the G550, G500, G450, G350 and G200. It also provides service for legacy Gulfstream aircraft – the GV, GIV / IV-SP, GIII and the GII.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced some 1,600 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. To meet the diverse transportation needs of the future, Gulfstream offers a comprehensive fleet of aircraft, comprising the wide-cabin, high-speed Gulfstream G150®; the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G200®; the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G350®; the large-cabin, long-range G450®; the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G500®; the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G550® and the ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range G650®. Gulfstream also offers aircraft ownership services via Gulfstream Financial Services Division and Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales®. The company employs more than 9,100 people at seven major locations. We invite you to visit our Web site for more information and photos of Gulfstream aircraft at www.gulfstream.com. General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 84,000 people worldwide and reported 2007 revenues of $27.2 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www,generaldynamics.com.