REDONDO BEACH, Calif., March 18, 2010 -- The Defense Department's Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) Phase 3, built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), has been selected for the prestigious Laureate Award in the IT/Electronics category.

Aviation Week and Space Technology , the industry's premier news publication, bestowed the award at a black-tie event March 17, 2010 at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Laureate awards recognize individuals and teams for their extraordinary accomplishments that embody the spirit of exploration, innovation and vision.

"This award is testament to our capabilities and performance in successfully transforming solid state lasers from a promising technology to a robust capability with the proven attributes to enable application to the evolving security needs of our nation," said Dan Wildt, vice president of Directed Energy Systems at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. Â

"When the program began four years ago, few believed that solid-state lasers could produce a militarily significant 100kW beam. Our JHPSSL team proved not only that it could be done, but that it could be done reliably and repeatedly through an innovative, power scalable approach that has surpassed expectations and for which power limits have yet to be tested."

The JHPSSL team, led by program manager Jay Marmo, became the first to meet or exceed the requirements of a U.S. Defense Department initiative to demonstrate a solid-state laser capable of producing 100 kilowatts of laser power over a sustained period while maintaining a tightly focused, highly concentrated light beam. This new capability supports self-defense missions from diverse threats such as rockets, artillery, mortar, swarming boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft and cruise missiles. Ultra-precision strike becomes practical from a variety of ground, sea or air-based platforms while minimizing the risk of collateral damage. Northrop Grumman has been the world's leading supplier of high-energy laser systems, subsystems and components for over 40 years.

The military customer for JHPSSL is the Office of the Secretary of Defense, High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office in Albuquerque, N.M. Phase 3 was managed by the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, Huntsville, Ala.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. 

  CONTACT:  Bob Bishop
          Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
          310.812.5227
          bob.bishop@ngc.com