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                             Watkins-Johnaon Company
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For Further Information:

        Editorial:  Terry Martin     WJ Telecommunications Group.   831-439-6297
        Financial:  Frank E. Emery   (Watkins-Johnson Co.)          650-813-2752

For immediate release:

          Watkins-Johnson Receives Electronic Receiving Equipment Order

GAITHERSBURG, MD., (May 24, 1999). Watkins-Johnson Company (NYSE: WJ), announced
today that its  Telecommunications  Group  received  the award of two  contracts
totaling  $8.2  million for  electronic  receiving  equipment  from  Sanders,  a
Lockheed Martin Company (NYSE: LMT).

Watkins-Johnson Company, headquartered in Palo Alto, California,  specializes in
two high-technology business areas. WJ's  wireless-communications  units produce
radio-frequency  components,  subassemblies  and  equipment for fixed and mobile
networks  worldwide.   The  company's  Semiconductor  Equipment  Group  produces
atmospheric-pressure    chemical-vapor-deposition    systems   for   high-volume
integrated-circuit manufacturing. Company sales in 1998 were $212 million.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release, other than the historical financial information,  consists of
forward-looking  statements that involve risks and uncertainties,  including the
timely  availability  of the products and the other risks  detailed from time to
time in the  company's  SEC reports,  including  the report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 1998. Actual results may vary materially.

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