Northrop Grumman Awarded Airborne Sensor Demonstration Contract

Northrop Grumman Awarded Airborne Sensor Demonstration Contract
August 10, 2009

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a contract to conduct a maritime airborne sensor demonstration using a company owned MQ-8B Fire Scout tactical Vertical Unmanned Aircraft System (VUAS) by ABS Group, a Systems Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA) contractor for the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center. The test will take place in the Chesapeake Bay conducted from the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Md, Webster Outlying Field.

The purpose of the test is to verify and validate ship deployed
UAS aircraft and payload capabilities, as described in Northrop
Grumman's response to an earlier Coast Guard Request for Information
(#HSCG32-09-J-200023). During the test, Fire Scout will use the U.S.
Navy baseline payload, the FLIR Systems Inc BriteStar II
electro-optical/infrared/laser designator range finder (EO/IR/LDRF)
payload. The radar will be an off-the-shelf Telephonics 1700B search,
surveillance, tracking and imaging radar system, which was integrated
on Fire Scout under an internal research and development cooperative
funding program between Northrop Grumman and Telephonics in early 2008.
The test is scheduled to occur in fall 2009.

"This is a great opportunity to demonstrate that Fire Scout is
a mature VUAS that has the capability, modularity, and flexibility to
provide a wide area surveillance capability for the domestic and
international customers, including the U.S. Coast Guard. A great
example of where this capability will be vitally important is aboard
the Coast Guard's new National Security Cutter," said Doug Fronius,
Director of Tactical Unmanned Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace
Systems sector.

The U.S. Navy Fire Scout will complete Operational Evaluation
in 2009 and is slated to deploy aboard USS McInerney (FFG-8.)

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.

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