WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., July 16, 2009 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) cut the ribbon today for a new facility at Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the first building in the Wallops Research Park.

Wallops Research Park is a joint effort by NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the Marine Science Consortium and Accomack County designed to attract science, technology and educational organizations and provide high-tech jobs to the region.

The one-story, 15,000-square foot building can house up to 55 Northrop Grumman employees supporting the U.S. Navy's Surface Combat Systems Center and NASA.

Northrop Grumman provides the Navy with systems engineering, planning, installation, operations and maintenance services for the Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) and the AEGIS Combat System. Both SSDS and AEGIS are advanced, shipboard command and control systems that use computers and sensors to track and destroy enemy missiles.

The company also designs, manufactures, tests, and provides launch support for the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract, which uses low-cost rockets to launch sensors and instrumentation into suborbital space for exo-atmospheric measurements and experimentation.

"This building will be a tier one, modern facility fully equipped with multiple conference centers, a secure processing center and conference room," said Kevin Sculley, vice president of the Integrated Mission Systems business unit within Northrop Grumman Information Systems sector. "This building signifies Northrop Grumman's commitment to the community and to our customers, and it positions the company to better support the Navy for current and future combat systems efforts."

Empire Development, a Virginia Beach, Va., development, brokerage and consulting firm, completed the building in June, and Northrop Grumman moved in on June 26. The new facility is located on Atlantic Road, across from the Surface Combat Systems Center headquarters.

Northrop Grumman has 180 employees in Wallops Island.

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:  Janis Lamar
          Northrop Grumman Information Systems
          (703) 345-7046
          janis.lamar@ngc.com