RESTON, Va., Jan. 13, 2010 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a contract by the Texas Local Government Purchasing Cooperative to provide the company's business process management software and learning assessment system to Texas government, nonprofit and education organizations. Access to these applications will help users optimize business processes and student learning.

Under the terms of the Texas Association of School Boards BuyBoard Cooperative Purchasing contract, Northrop Grumman's e.POWER business process management software platform, and the Assessment Solutions Promoting Instruction, Reflection and Evidence (ASPIRE) learning assessment system are available for purchase by all city, county and education organizations in the state.

The Texas BuyBoard is an online local government purchasing cooperative created to increase the purchasing power of government entities and simplify their purchasing by using a customized electronic purchasing system.

"With Northrop Grumman, Texas government and education organizations are gaining access to advanced technology solutions and leading expertise in the federal, state and local marketplace," said Dave Nastase, vice president of Advanced Public Services for Northrop Grumman's Civil Systems division. "ASPIRE will give educators the tools they need to help students excel in the classroom and succeed in a competitive world; and e.POWER will provide users flexibility in building and modernizing business processes and systems."

Work on the BuyBoard contract will be conducted over one base year and two, one-year option periods.

Northrop Grumman's e.POWER suite of applications delivers business process management and automation for agile, end-to-end control of enterprise processes. e.POWER helps organizations achieve rapid response to changing business needs, reduce operating costs, and improve accuracy and increase flexibility of enterprise applications.

State and local agencies currently using e.POWER include New York City for claims and case management, the Iowa Department of Transportation for engineering document management and records management, and Wake County, N.C. for land records.

The ASPIRE assessment system is a comprehensive assessment system designed to help teachers and students gather, understand, and utilize assessment data effectively and efficiently to ensure student learning.

ASPIRE is currently being used in Fairfax County, Va., Public Schools, Deer Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, Az., and Ascension Parish School Board in Donaldsonville, La.

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:  Christy Whitman
          Northrop Grumman Information Systems
          (571) 213-5302
          christine.whitman@ngc.com