HOLLYWOOD, Md., Sept. 1, 2011 -- Naval Air Station Patuxent River will honor 100 years of Naval Aviation during the 2011 Air Expo, being held Sept. 3-4, 2011. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is proud to be a major sponsor of this Centennial of Naval Aviation event, which features the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the U.S. Army parachute team, the "Golden Knights."

"Northrop Grumman honors the men and women serving our country during this 100th year of Naval Aviation," said Scott Stewart, Northrop Grumman's corporate lead executive for the Naval Air Systems Command and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. "We are extremely proud to have designed, built and maintained the aircraft and technologies that have supported our country's naval aviators for more than 80 years. Northrop Grumman has delivered over 26,300 aircraft to the Navy and Marine Corps over our history and we are working to advance the next 100 years of Naval aviation."

Known for its technological innovation, Northrop Grumman is committed to the communities in which its employees live and work. With more than 300 employees in the Patuxent River area, Northrop Grumman is active in the community providing support to a variety of community and civic organizations ranging from the science, technology, engineering and mathematics initiative in the St. Mary's County School District to the St. Mary's River Concert Series and Greenwell's Vacations for Veterans program.

This year's Air Expo will include exhibits, vintage aircraft demonstrations and static displays featuring aircraft from the past, present and future. A variety of Northrop Grumman aircraft, designed and built for the U.S. Navy, will be on static display, including:

E-2D Advanced Hawkeye – the U.S. Navy's carrier-based airborne early warning and battle management command and control system provides continuous, unprecedented 360-degree scanning capability for detecting, tracking and defeating enemy aircraft and cruise missile threats at extended ranges.

C-2A –Greyhound – the U.S. Navy's Carrier-Onboard-Delivery aircraft provides critical logistics support to carrier strike groups. It is capable of carrying a combined payload of 10,000 pounds over a distance in excess of 1,000 nautical miles and its flexible interior cabin arrangement can readily accommodate cargo, passengers and medevac patients providing an operational versatility found in no other cargo aircraft.

MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator – a high-altitude, long endurance, multi-mission, unmanned system that provides a persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data collection and dissemination capability.

MQ-8B Fire Scout – a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned system providing unprecedented situational awareness, through a variety of electro-optical, infrared and communications payloads.

X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator – a tailless, strike fighter-sized, low-observable, relevant unmanned aircraft designed to demonstrate that it can land on and be launched from the flight deck of a Navy aircraft carrier underway at sea.

The first 2,000 attendees each day are invited to stop by the Northrop Grumman booth in Hangar 101 and pick up a free commemorative poster, while supplies last. For more information about Northrop Grumman's role in the Centennial of Naval Aviation, please visit www.northropgrumman.com/naval100 .

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: Kirsti Dunn
         (301) 373-2388
         kirsti.dunn@ngc.com