Northrop Grumman High-Energy Laser Could Protect U.S. Navy Ships At Sea From Small Attack Boats

Northrop Grumman High-Energy Laser Could Protect U.S. Navy Ships At Sea From Small Attack Boats
July 21, 2009

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - July 21, 2009 - The ultra-precision of
high-energy lasers soon may be the pinpoint, measured response that
will keep threats a safe distance from U.S. Navy ships.

Under a new Navy initiative called the Maritime Laser
Demonstration, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) will apply its
solid-state laser systems expertise and successes to demonstrate a
laser weapon system to defeat a wide range of current threats.

"Naval forces face a wide range of challenges from small
surface craft to advanced aerial threats. New solutions are required to
meet these challenges within cost and force structure constraints,"
said Steve Hixson, vice president of Advanced Concepts - Space and
Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems
sector. "Northrop Grumman uniquely has proven its expertise in
addressing key issues for laser power scaling so that the response
meets the level of the threat. We will apply company-wide capabilities,
from shipbuilding to systems integration, to meet the Navy's objectives
for this program."

The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., has awarded the
company an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for MLD
with a ceiling value of $98 million, which has an expected completion
date of June 2014. The Navy committed an initial amount of $499,999
through the end of the current government fiscal year that will enable
Northrop Grumman to complete the critical design review for this
demonstration.

Under the contract, Northrop Grumman will demonstrate an
innovative laser weapon system suitable for operation in a marine
environment and able to defeat small boat threats before the end of
2010.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security
company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products,
and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems,
shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial
customers worldwide.
# # #

Technorati Tags:
Naval Systems, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)