RESTON, Va., MUNICH, Germany and MADRID, Spain, Aug. 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The trans-Atlantic partnership of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), EADS Defence & Security Systems (DS), and Indra formally submitted their proposal this week for the NATO Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) program competition.
This contract is a key part of the new NATO Active Layered Theatre Ballistic-Missile Defense (ALTBMD) program. Under the awarded contract, the winner will design, develop, and validate a target architecture and conduct the subsequent test and verification of this architecture to integrate the NATO command and control systems with national components. In order to achieve that goal, the systems engineering and integration contractor will design, develop and operate a NATO Integration Test Bed (ITB).
The invitation for bids was issued by the NATO ALTBMD Programme Office in Brussels on May 19, with contract award expected in September.
"Our Northrop Grumman/EADS DS/Indra team represents a true partnership that boasts strong experience in systems integration and an unsurpassed knowledge of the NATO mission, which is key to successfully integrating these national systems into one cohesive architecture," said Frank Moore, Northrop Grumman's executive lead for NATO/Europe missile defense collaboration and sector vice president and general manager of the Missile Defense Division. "Each of our team members is committed to the task of defending NATO forces from ballistic missile attacks, and we have assigned our best and brightest engineers to meet this challenge."
"As a major player within Europe and with the experience that EADS DS has in the field of ballistic missile defense and trans-Atlantic projects, we provide the team our expertise in test bed integration and air defense," commented Stefan Zoller, Member of the EADS Executive Committee and CEO of EADS Defence & Security Systems Division.
"NATO ALTBMD Architecture is a major challenge," said Regino Moranchel, Indra's managing director. "The defense of the deployed NATO forces from the ballistic missile threat allows no compromise. The complexity of the integration and the flexibility required to harmonize NATO and national elements are of an unprecedented dimension. The objective is a truly open and interoperable architecture where all the components must be able to plug into and be ready to defend deployed forces. Indra and its partners Northrop Grumman and EADS DS have a great amount of accumulated knowledge and experience in the successful integration of highly complex system-of-systems."
Once selected, the team will use the integration test bed as a platform to integrate, test and verify the proposed architectures; develop and evaluate theatre missile-defense concepts of operation; and test and evaluate the different architectural capabilities as hardware and software become available. In addition, the team will ensure integration and interoperability among the various NATO components of the architecture from both a technical and operational perspective. The test bed will also be used for performance verification, using detailed modeling and simulation tools to ensure that the actual missile defense performance will meet requirements.
Northrop Grumman's experience in the U.S. missile-defense integration market is vast. For the U.S. ground-based missile-defense shield, Northrop Grumman is developing the highly successful fire control system that orchestrates each engagement and ties together the entire system. Northrop is the prime contractor at the Joint National Integration Center and is also leading an industry team to develop and test the Kinetic Energy Interceptor system -- a mobile boost/ascent/early-midcourse phase missile-defense capability. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for developing and fielding the Air and Missile Defense Workstation (AMDWS), a decision dominance system used successfully in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. AMDWS is currently used by the U.S. Army from theatre through fire unit organizational levels. 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 approximately 120,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
With revenues of about EUR 5.6 billion in 2005 and roughly 23,000 employees across nine nations, EADS Defence & Security Systems Division forms the defense and security pillar within EADS. As a large systems integrator, it offers integrated systems solutions to the new challenges confronting armed forces and global security. It is active in the areas of manned and unmanned integrated combat and mission air systems, including related training services, and in missile systems, battlefield management systems for all branches, global security solutions, secure networks, defense electronics, sensors and avionics, as well as related services. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of EUR 34.2 billion and employed a workforce of about 113,000.
Indra, the leading Spanish defense systems and information technology company, delivers C4ISR and air defense systems and equipment to national, NATO and international customers. Indra's capabilities include systems development, integration and engineering. Indra's experience in the development and integration of advanced air defense systems, army anti-air missile defense systems and combat direction system will effectively contribute to offer the best solutions to NATO. Indra will merge its advanced technology in the latest NATO standards of identification with the strong worldwide sales network (in air defense systems in collaboration with Northrop Grumman and EADS). The result will be a complete product portfolio capable of meeting the requirements of the most demanding customers.