ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Oct. 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received a follow-on contract to support six E-2C Hawkeye aircraft primarily used for drug interdiction and homeland-security operations for the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Under the $35 million, five-year contract, Northrop Grumman's Field Support Services unit will support reserve squadron VAW-77, based at Naval Air Station Atlanta. The work will primarily encompass aircraft maintenance and modifications, plus assistance with engineering issues and spare parts. The company has served the squadron in this role for the past 10 years and the company has been involved in 24 international deployments of the E-2C, primarily to the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. The squadron's work in Central America began in 2002 and has prevented nearly 31 tons of cocaine, with a street value of $11.9 billion, from entering the United States.
More than 180 E-2Cs have been delivered to the U.S. Navy since 1973. The aircraft mainly performs carrier-based airborne early-warning and battle management functions, and has also been used for drug interdiction by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and the former U.S. Customs Department (now part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) since the mid-1980s.
Northrop Grumman Field Support Services, part of Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems, provides aircraft maintenance and modification, engineering, technical training, logistics and parts manufacture. Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems, headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., is a premier aerospace and defense systems integration enterprise. As one of Northrop Grumman Corporation's seven sectors, it designs, develops, produces and supports integrated systems and subsystems for U.S. government, civil and international customers. Integrated Systems delivers best-value solutions, products and services that support military and homeland security missions in the areas of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; battle management command and control; and integrated strike warfare.