Northrop wins $220M NSA storage deal

Northrop Grumman Corp. is leading a team of government contractors on a new $220 million Defense Department contract to develop an advanced information management and data storage system that will upgrade the nation's electronic intelligence and broaden signals intelligence capabilities at the National Security Agency.

Under the 51-month Information Management and Storage development contract, Northrop Grumman will provide architecture design, systems engineering, system development, integration and test and deployment activities.

The IM&S will provide long-term, uniform access to electronic intelligence data collected across DOD and the intelligence community. The system will directly support the information-sharing strategy of the director of National Intelligence, who heads the intelligence community, and the DOD's net-centric vision, Northrop Grumman said.

"IM&S is a revolutionary advance in information management," said Loren Ryder, IM&S program manager at Northrop Grumman. He said the system will radically change the way analysts perform their jobs, resulting in a significant increase in analytical productivity.

Northrop Grumman's team members include BAE Systems Inc.; IBM Corp.; Sparta Inc.; and Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division.

Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles ranks No. 3 on Washington Technology's 2007 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.