RESTON, Va., Feb. 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The U.S. Air Force has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to build a national military command and control system for Bulgaria.
Under the contract, Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector will develop, integrate, test, install and support the command and control system for the Bulgarian National Military Command Center and train Bulgarian soldiers to use the system. Bulgaria's command center, located in Sophia, is expected to be fully operational this summer.
The system will include the Interoperable C4I Services (ICS) server and the Command and Control Personal Computer workstation, a commercial command and control system developed to provide a national command and control capability and to be interoperable with the U.S. Department of Defense's Global Command and Control System.
ICS and the Command and Control Personal Computer provide robust command and control functionality similar to what the company developed for the Defense Information Systems Agency and the U.S. Marine Corps. The Global Command and Control System and the Command and Control Personal Computer were used extensively during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Air Force Material Command's Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., awarded the contract as a U.S. government Foreign Military Sales program.
"Northrop Grumman's previous successes developing command and control systems in Bulgaria, NATO countries and other coalition countries were key to winning this important program, which helps give Bulgaria the capabilities it needs to interoperate with new NATO allies," said Barry Rhine, president of the sector's Defense Mission Systems business area. "As additional next-generation NATO countries evolve, we are striving to be the premier provider of military command and control systems throughout Eastern Europe."
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, the prime contractor, will be supported by Northrop Grumman's Information Technology sector. Work will be performed in Manassas, Va., Southampton, England, and on site in Sophia, Bulgaria.
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, based in Reston, Va., is a global integrator of complex, mission-enabling systems and services for defense, intelligence and civil government markets. The sector's technology leadership and expertise spans areas such as strategic systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles; missile defense; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; command and control; technical services; and training.
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