MELBOURNE, Fla., Aug. 7, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received a contract from the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Information Directorate to demonstrate and assess the Automated Information Management System (AIMS) in a tactical environment. Under the contract, Northrop Grumman will install the AIMS capability in an Air Force E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft for the upcoming Bold Quest exercise scheduled for next month.
Northrop Grumman has been working with AFRL as part of its Aether Project to integrate and demonstrate an advanced airborne capability merging AFRL's Joint Battlespace Infosphere Reference Implementation into Northrop Grumman's Advanced Information Architecture. The result is AIMS, which will provide the tactical warfighter with critical information, on demand, though existing operational communications.
"AIMS will provide information currently unavailable to remote users," said Richard Wassmuth, Northrop Grumman AIMS program manager. "Warfare has transitioned from massed troops operating across a large battlefield to small cells operating in urban environments. It is essential to provide near real-time information to our remote soldiers using their existing communication systems.
"This service oriented architecture of airborne and ground federated servers provides publish, subscribe and query capability to even single soldiers operating in remote locations throughout the area of operations. AIMS will also bring a new data management capability to commanders allowing them faster access to information from a wide variety of sources," Wassmuth concluded.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.