Northrop Grumman lands $400 million command post deal

Northrop Grumman Corp. won a prime contract worth up to $400 million over five years to develop and field Army command posts where commanders use advanced technology to direct operations and control forces, the company said today.

The award includes an initial 18-month, $26 million contract to design and build 10 prototype command posts. The post platform includes common command centers with advanced command-and-control hardware and technology to give commanders better control over digital forces using various Army battlefield systems. It also lets soldiers and officers move between echelons without having to retrain command-post operations.

After the initial award, the Army will issue follow-on options to develop command posts for Stryker Brigade Combat Teams 5 and 6, which will be the first units equipped with the operational test units, Northrop Grumman said. Full-rate production options to equip the remaining Army units will begin in 2006 and continue through 2010.

Northrop Grumman's team for the Command Post Platform Development and Integration Program includes Azbell Electronics Inc., Titan Corp., Tobyhanna Army Depot, Applied Minds Inc., Natural Interactive Systems, Gichner Shelter Systems, Harris Corp., Sanmina-Sci Corp., Shafer Corp. and Colsa Corp. Northrop Grumman's information technology sector in Reston, Va., will provide logistics support and training and integrate and test command-and-control components.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Northrop Grumman is a global defense company that employs 125,000 workers and had 2003 revenue of $26.2 billion. The company is No. 2 on Washington Technology's 2004 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.