Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC – News) today honored six suppliers who have demonstrated exceptional performance and teamwork on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program. These suppliers have made solid contributions to NPOESS’ continued progress at a time when public attention has been focused on the challenges facing the program.

The company presented NPOESS Outstanding Supplier Awards to ITT, Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems, Maxwell Technologies, ABB Bomem, RT Logic and Earth Resources Technology, Inc. during its third annual NPOESS Supplier Conference. As prime contractor, Northrop Grumman is responsible for overall system design and development, including acquisition of sensors and assembly and test of the spacecraft.

In the last nine months, the NPOESS program has made solid progress,“ said Dave Ryan, Northrop Grumman Space Technology vice president and NPOESS program director. ”This success is due in part to those subcontractors we are honoring. I applaud this year’s winners, who have gone above and beyond expectations in critical areas, and demonstrated excellent and consistent performance.“

Suppliers were honored for the following achievements:

— ITT Space Systems Division has demonstrated continued excellent development and performance of the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIs) instrument, performing beyond contractual agreement and what is expected of a teammate

— Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems has continued its outstanding support to Northrop Grumman as lead of the Ground Segment. They have excelled in program planning, execution, integration and program advocacy. Additionally, they have assumed oversight of Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) activities, which is beyond the scope of their contract

— Maxwell Technologies, given the fiscal year 2006 (FY06) funding constraints of the program, did not hesitate to continue working, at their own risk, on the Engineering Model and the Engineering Qualification Model deliverables to support the program’s needs and reduce risk for flight

— ABB Bomem demonstrated exceptional NPOESS teamwork in the manufacture and delivery of the CrIs interferometer. ABB has supported the successful integration of the interferometer into the CrIs sensor

— RT Logic worked proactively to provide fully compliant designs and consistently exceeded their contractual expectations. During the design and development cycle, RT Logic successfully met all scope of work requirements resulting in an on-time delivery

— Earth Resources Technology Inc. (ERT) has been instrumental in coordination of static and dynamic ancillary data and Sensor Data Record content and formats for the CDFCB-X (Common Data Format Control Book-External) documentation. ERT has also demonstrated domain knowledge on calibration and validation of space-borne remote-sensing instruments

As the nation’s next-generation operational, polar-orbiting environmental satellite system, NPOESS is composed of satellites, a ground-control system and a data- processing/dissemination network. It will provide civilian, military and scientific communities with regional and global meteorological data; oceanographic, environmental, climatic and space environmental remote-sensing information; surface data collection; and search-and-rescue capabilities.

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 125,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.

Contact: Sally Koris
Northrop Grumman Space Technology
(310) 812-4721
sally.koris@ngc.com

Northrop Grumman Honors Outstanding NPOESS Suppliers at Third Annual Conference