SAN DIEGO, July 23, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), the nation's largest supplier of systems and platforms to the U.S. Navy, highlighted that role in today's ceremony to celebrate the arrival of the nation's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), at its assigned home port here.
Scott J. Seymour, corporate vice president and president of the company's Integrated Systems sector, represented Northrop Grumman's 125,000 employees at the homeporting ceremony at Naval Air Station North Island. Northrop Grumman, the nation's sole designer, builder and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, delivered the Ronald Reagan to the Navy in June 2003.
"No doubt there will be many monuments built to honor President Reagan in the years to come, but I can imagine few more fitting than this proud ship," said Seymour. "In every cable, bulkhead and high-tech piece of machinery, including her 80-plus combat aircraft, she is a living legacy of President Reagan's motto of 'peace through strength.'"
Named after America's 40th president, the Ronald Reagan is the ninth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier built by Northrop Grumman. It towers 20 stories above the waterline. With a length of 1,092 feet, it is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. The ship displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water when afloat.
Northrop Grumman's work for the U.S. Navy extends far beyond the construction of aircraft carriers. The company also provides surface ships and submarines; manned and unmanned aircraft; avionics; sensors; communications and navigation systems, plus information technology services and other engineering tools for managing large, complex systems.
For example, Northrop Grumman plays a major role in producing most of the aircraft on Navy carrier decks, including the E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft; and the EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft, which performs surveillance and electronic jamming of enemy radars and communications nets. The company produces major sections of the F/A-18E/F strike fighter as a principal subcontractor to Boeing, the Navy's F/A-18 prime contractor.
Additionally, as a principal subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman is working on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will be used on carrier decks in the future. The company is responsible for producing more than 25 percent of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter weapons system. Northrop Grumman's contributions range from integrating a major section of the aircraft's structure to producing key subsystems such as communications and avionics, and developing software for mission planning
Northrop Grumman also plays a significant role in the San Diego business community. The company employs nearly 4,000 people in San Diego County at facilities in Rancho Bernardo, Sorrento Valley, Naval Air Station North Island and other locations. Northrop Grumman works with more than 100 supplier companies in the county. In 2003, it issued more than $465 million in purchase orders to those suppliers.
In Rancho Bernardo, Northrop Grumman designed and developed the U.S. Air Force's RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system, which recently surpassed 2,000 combat flight hours while supporting the global war on terrorism. To date, Northrop Grumman has received more than $2.3 billion in contracts for the design, development, testing and production of the Global Hawk system.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology. With 125,000 employees, and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
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