MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a blanket purchase agreement for the installation, engineering and maintenance of the U.S. Social Security Administration's local area network. The network is critical to providing availability and security to Social Security customers.

The blanket purchase agreement, awarded to Northrop Grumman's Information Technology (IT) sector, is valued at up to $153 million over five years.

Northrop Grumman IT will provide a broad range of engineering services and switching products, including Cisco hardware and software, to support the Social Security Administration's nearly 1,800 locations.

"Northrop Grumman will bring its expertise as a leading integrator of advanced technology applications and customized hardware and software solutions to help advance and keep secure the network infrastructure of the Social Security Administration," said Catherine Kuenzel, acting president of Northrop Grumman IT's Computing Systems business unit.

Northrop Grumman's teammates include Comstor, Chantilly, Va., and Communication Supply Corp., Carol Stream, Ill.

Northrop Grumman Information Technology, headquartered in McLean, Va., is a trusted IT leader and premier provider of advanced IT solutions, engineering and business services for government and commercial clients. The company's technological leadership spans such areas as homeland security solutions, health IT solutions, secure wireless, cyber and physical assurance, IT and network infrastructure, managed services, knowledge management, modeling and simulation and geospatial intelligence solutions.

  CONTACT:  Juli Ballesteros, APR
          Northrop Grumman Information Technology
          (703) 713-4675
           
          Christy Whitman
          Northrop Grumman Information Technology 
          (571) 213-5302