Northrop wins $504M Air Force modernization job

Northrop Grumman Corp. will modernize the Air Force’s Air and Space Operations Center as the result of an eight-year contract that has a potential value of $504 million if all options are exercised.

The Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System in Newport News, Va., is the command and control center for planning, executing and assessing joint air operations during a contingency or conflict, a March 14 Northrop announcement explained.

The contract from the Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., calls for the Northrop Grumman team to modernize the center to enable greater battle space awareness and more effective, dynamic planning and execution, the announcement said.

Program objectives include improving the speed of command by automating information exchange, accelerating the integration of warfighter capabilities and significantly reducing lifecycle costs.

Tasks under the contract include design, integration, test and delivery of a network-centric infrastructure and mission applications with fielding and sustainment at eight AOC sites.

"Our team will develop a composable solution built upon our Modular Open Systems Approach-Competitive model to offer mission-tailorable capabilities and allow continuous lifecycle refresh and competition," said Mike Twyman, vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems Division at Northrop Grumman Information Systems.

Northrop's Modular Open Systems Approach-Competitive is a strategic business and engineering process that achieves the lifecycle benefits of open-systems architecture and commercial off-the-shelf components and software, according to the announcement.

The team includes AgilePath Corp., Capgemini Government Solutions, ZelTech Technologies, Layer 7 Technologies, Bosh Global Services, Applied Minds, and DMM Ventures.

Northrop Grumman Corp., of Falls Church, Va., and Los Angeles, ranks No. 2 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.