Northrop Grumman wins Marine Corps contract for warning system

Northrop Grumman Corp. won a contract worth up to $15 million from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command for design and implementation of a next-generation chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense warning and reporting system, the Los Angeles company announced yesterday.

The Joint Warning and Reporting Network will analyze and disseminate critical information in order to protect U.S. armed forces from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks. The JWARN system will provide early warnings through dedicated command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and networks, according to Northrop Grumman.

The contract is worth at least $5 million and up to $15 million if all options are exercised. The work will be performed by Northrop Grumman's Information Technology unit at its Winter Park, Fla., location. Team members include Sypris Electronics of Tampa, Fla., OptiMetrics of Ann Arbor, Mich., Coalescent Technologies Corp. of Orlando, Fla., Dynamics Research Corp. of Andover, Mass., and EAI Corp. of Abingdon, Md.

"JWARN will provide our Joint Forces with a complete integrated analysis response capability in order to minimize the effect of CBRN attacks," said Barry Rhine, president of Defense Mission Systems for Northrop Grumman IT. "JWARN is a part of a critical effort to integrate key information elements to present the war fighter with the total battle decision picture."

Northrop Grumman Corp. employs 120,000 and had $17.2 billion in revenue in 2002. Its Information Technology unit, which is based in Herndon, Va., provides IT solutions and engineering and business services for government and commercial clients.