EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) of Norway have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly identify and develop potential opportunities for KDA to produce composite parts and subassemblies for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Northrop Grumman is responsible for design and integration of the F-35's center fuselage, a major section of the aircraft.
"This memorandum with KDA will help Northrop Grumman and the F-35 industrial team find ways to increase Norway's industrial involvement in the development of the world's most advanced multirole stealth combat aircraft," said Steve Briggs, Northrop Grumman vice president and the company's F-35 program manager. "The F-35 offers allies such as Norway unprecedented levels of interoperability and increased capability at an affordable price."
Under the memorandum, Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector and KDA will research, analyze and recommend potential F-35 opportunities between now and early 2005.
KDA, Norway's premier supplier of high-technology defense systems, is part of KONGSBERG -- a Norway-based international technology corporation represented in more than 20 countries. The organization is a leader in anti-ship missiles, military communications and weapons control systems. Alliances with large international defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman play a key role in its market strategy. Last year, 73 percent of KDA's revenue was earned outside Norway.
As a principal subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman is responsible for producing more than 25 percent of the F-35 weapon system. The company's contribution ranges 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.
In addition to Integrated Systems, three other Northrop Grumman sectors support the F-35 program: the Electronic Systems sector provides the fire control radar, the electro-optical distributed aperture system and, with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, the electro-optical targeting system; the Mission Systems sector provides system and software engineering support for the mission planning system; and the Space Technology sector provides the integrated communications, navigation and identification avionics suite.
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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