HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 24, 2012 -- The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Association for Enterprise Information have selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) as the industry winner of the DoD Enterprise Architecture Achievement Award.

The Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS), developed by Northrop Grumman under the direction of the U.S. Army IAMD Project Office, Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space in Huntsville, was praised for significant achievement in using enterprise architecture to enable mission success in all operations of the DoD: warfighting, business and intelligence. This year, the selection criterion emphasized programs delivering agile and secure information capabilities to enhance combat power and decision-making. The award is given to one government and one industry organization each year.

"This is important recognition for the IBCS team that created a very innovative solution to affordably and effectively integrate evolving sensors and weapon systems," said Kelley Zelickson, vice president of air and missile defense systems for Northrop Grumman Information Systems. "The agile, open-architecture system also demonstrates enhanced information sharing capabilities for more effective battle management and command."

In reviewing the award submissions, Brian Wilczynski, director of Architecture and Interoperability, Office of the DoD Chief Information Officer said, "The quality of the submissions was exceptional; competition was keen. It is rewarding to see the dedication and perseverance of so many organizations that support our DoD missions through the discipline of architecture."

The IBCS program resulted from analysis of Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom operations to improve battle command as a top priority for reducing fratricide incidents and achieving an enterprise approach to command and control. IBCS will establish an open systems, network-centric system-of-systems solution for integrating sensors, weapons, and battle management command, control, communications and intelligence systems. IBCS uses a plug-and-fight approach to ensure current and future systems can be easily incorporated, allowing warfighters to take advantage of integrated Army and joint sensors and weapons. The IBCS enterprise environment focuses on warfighter decision processes and tools to optimize time-critical engagements.

Northrop Grumman executives will accept the award on May 1 at the annual DoD Enterprise Architecture Conference in Miami.

IBCS also has been honored with a 2011 Top 5 DoD Program Award given annually for excellence in systems engineering.

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. 

  CONTACT: Sudi Bruni
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