MCLEAN, Va., May 24, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a follow-on task order valued at up to $141 million for continued development of the U.S. Department of Defense Automated Biometric Identification System (DoD-ABIS), which provides military personnel with reliable and timely identification of persons of suspected threat to U.S. national security.

The task order was awarded under the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions 2 Services (ITES-2S) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract by the U.S. Army Contracting Command - National Capital Region (ACC-NCR). Work will be conducted over one base year with four, one-year option periods.

Under the terms of the task order, Northrop Grumman will provide systems engineering, software development, infrastructure and performance engineering, and modeling and simulation support. The company will have primary development responsibility of DoD-ABIS including program management, systems engineering, software development, integration, training, disaster recovery, case management, system sustainment, scalability and interoperability.

"DoD-ABIS is a proven multimodal biometric enterprise system that is helping to protect the lives of the warfighter and personnel assigned to U.S. bases worldwide," said Alan Leckenby, director of identity and business solutions for Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. "Northrop Grumman's broad expertise developing and fielding advanced biometrics applications across defense, civilian and law enforcement environments will be a critical asset to the Defense Department as it maintains its position as a leader and early adopter of multi-modal biometric technologies. Through our valued and long-standing partnership on this program, we look forward to providing our military personnel with additional mission essential capabilities for this important Defense Department system."

DoD-ABIS is the central repository and authoritative source for Defense Department multi-modal (face, fingerprint, iris and palm) biometric identity records for persons of interest. The network-centric system is accessible worldwide and interfaces with other U.S. government agency data systems.

Northrop Grumman was awarded the initial ABIS development contract in 2006. The company's enterprise biometric and identity management experience includes a role on the Biometrics Operations and Support Services Unrestricted contract, which provides a range of technical services and solutions to fulfill the Defense Department's Biometrics Identity Management Agency biometrics services needs; support for the Biometric Identification System for Access that provides base access control in the Defense Department theatre of operation; and development and operations of IDENT1, a scene-of-crime biometric repository system for the United Kingdom's National Policing Improvement Agency.

Work on the DoD-ABIS task order will be conducted in Fairmont, W.Va., and Fairfax, Va.

Northrop Grumman's teammates on the task order include Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Va.; Science Applications International Corporation, McLean, Va.; Six3 Systems, McLean, Va.; SRA International, Fairfax, Va.; E&M Technologies, Severn, Md.; NEW-BOLD Enterprises, White Hall, W.Va.; Ultra-scan Corporation, Amherst, N.Y.; MPL Corporation, Buckhannon, W.Va.; and STS International, Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.