REDONDO BEACH, CA -(GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) - March 18, 2010
-- The Defense Department's Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL)
Phase 3, built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), has been
selected for the prestigious Laureate Award in the IT/Electronics
category.
Aviation Week and Space Technology, the industry's
premier news publication, bestowed the award at a black-tie event March
17, 2010 at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Laureate
awards recognize individuals and teams for their extraordinary
accomplishments that embody the spirit of exploration, innovation and
vision.
"This award is testament to our capabilities and
performance in successfully transforming solid state lasers from a
promising technology to a robust capability with the proven attributes
to enable application to the evolving security needs of our nation,"
said Dan Wildt, vice president of Directed Energy Systems at Northrop
Grumman Aerospace Systems.
"When the program began four years
ago, few believed that solid-state lasers could produce a militarily
significant 100kW beam. Our JHPSSL team proved not only that it could
be done, but that it could be done reliably and repeatedly through an
innovative, power scalable approach that has surpassed expectations and
for which power limits have yet to be tested."
The JHPSSL
team, led by program manager Jay Marmo, became the first to meet or
exceed the requirements of a U.S. Defense Department initiative to
demonstrate a solid-state laser capable of producing 100 kilowatts of
laser power over a sustained period while maintaining a tightly
focused, highly concentrated light beam. This new capability supports
self-defense missions from diverse threats such as rockets, artillery,
mortar, swarming boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft and cruise
missiles. Ultra-precision strike becomes practical from a variety of
ground, sea or air-based platforms while minimizing the risk of
collateral damage. Northrop Grumman has been the world's leading
supplier of high-energy laser systems, subsystems and components for
over 40 years.
The military customer for JHPSSL is the Office
of the Secretary of Defense, High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office
in Albuquerque, N.M. Phase 3 was managed by the U.S. Army's Space and
Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, Huntsville, Ala.
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.
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com Source: Northrop Grumman Corp.
Contact: Bob Bishop
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
310.812.5227
bob.bishop@ngc.com