WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Feb. 15, 2002 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received multiple task orders to provide enterprise messaging solutions for the Pentagon Telecommunications Service Center and other U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) agencies. The company's California Microwave Systems (CMS) business unit was awarded the task orders valued at $13 million by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The task orders are part of an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) award to eight secure communications solutions providers, including CMS, with a total potential value of $1 billion over the next five years. The award is intended to provide information technology-related enhancements and improvements to the Pentagon's existing Defense Messaging System (DMS).
Under the ID/IQ contract, Northrop Grumman's California Microwave Systems unit will provide products and personnel with the expertise to design, develop, install and maintain the DMS system. The company will also provide user systems and other computer-based training.
DMS enables the DoD and various federal agencies to effectively, efficiently and securely communicate with one another through e-mail and other electronic messaging capabilities.
California Microwave Systems is providing its innovative messaging product called Decision Agent (DA) as a core component of DMS, which will eventually replace AUTODIN, DoD's legacy messaging system.
"Northrop Grumman has a long history of involvement in support of the DoD's defense messaging system," said William Shaver, president of California Microwave Systems. "Our Communications Gateway System is proven technology that, coupled with our multifunction interpreter and mail list agent products, serves as the basis for the U.S. Army's Tactical Messaging System. Each of these information technology systems has been through the Defense Information Systems Agency's 'Value Add Products' program."
Based in Belcamp, Md., California Microwave Systems specializes in airborne reconnaissance and surveillance systems, government ground-based satellite communications systems, communications gateway systems and mission planning. The group's customers include the U.S. military services, other U.S. government agencies and international defense organizations.
Northrop Grumman's state-of-the art DA features a communications gateway system, multifunction interpreter, multithreaded message security protocol, send and receive proxies, and a Web-based message preparation system. These capabilities have been coupled with the Northrop Grumman Information Technology sector's LMDS(r) MailRoom Technology, the most powerful profiling engine on the market. Also included is Engenium Corp.'s Semetric(tm) retrieval engine, a cutting edge, knowledge-based retrospective search and inference engine.
DA combines the functions of multiple systems on one platform, from small, powerful computers for the tactical arena to large, multiprocessor servers for organizations such as the Pentagon Telecommunications Service Center. These computers use the latest in Microsoft technology, which is scalable depending on message throughput and storage requirements. DA has also been selected as the enterprise solution for messaging by various intelligence organizations.
"The Decision Agent enables a fresh look at the requirements for the defense messaging system and a means by which government managers can access all of the functionality of DMS with limited resources and provide DMS to their domain users," said Marvin Owens, director of the Pentagon Telecommunications Service Center.
California Microwave Systems is a component of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector. Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense electronics and systems including airborne radar systems, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, air traffic control systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems.
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