HERNDON, Va., Sept. 25, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) a contract to design, implement, and field the next generation chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense warning and reporting system.
The Joint Warning and Reporting Network (JWARN) will protect the armed forces through timely warning of CBRN attacks by analyzing and disseminating critical information. JWARN will provide early warnings by interfacing with CBRN sensors, analyzing and routing the sensor information through command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems and networks to provide the warfighter with a comprehensive and intelligent warning and reporting capability for a CBRN attack.
The initial award value is $5 million to Northrop Grumman's Information Technology (IT) sector. The total contract value is more than $15 million over five years including all options.
"JWARN will provide our Joint Forces with an integrated analysis and response capability in order to minimize the effect of CBRN attacks," said Barry Rhine, president, Defense Mission Systems, Northrop Grumman IT. "JWARN is a part of a critical effort to integrate key information assets to present the warfighter with the common operational picture of the battlespace."
JWARN will support the full range of warning and reporting capabilities, including prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. JWARN includes a JWARN component interface device that interfaces existing and future CBRN sensors to the JWARN mission application software operating on C4ISR host computers.
"We have assembled an unsurpassed team of experts that understand the dynamic environments of these C4ISR systems," said Martin Amen, director, Space and Communications Systems, Defense Mission Systems, Northrop Grumman IT. "For example, Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector provides expertise in the current and future communications environment within which JWARN will operate. Our team will apply their knowledge of the host C4ISR systems and their interfaces, communications engineering, effects modeling, sensor technology, CBRN operations, and information security to produce a comprehensive and integrated CBRN-warning solution."
Work on this contract will be performed at the Northrop Grumman IT location in Winter Park, Fla.
Northrop Grumman IT team members include Sypris Electronics, Tampa, Fla.; OptiMetrics, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Coalescent Technologies, Orlando, Fla; DRC, Andover, Mass.; and EAI Corporation, Abingdon, Md.
Northrop Grumman Information Technology, based in Herndon, Va., is a trusted IT leader and premier provider of advanced IT solutions, engineering and business services for government and commercial clients.