SAN DIEGO, Nov. 3, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The U.S. Air Force has honored a combined Air Force/Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) maintenance team and a Northrop Grumman employee for outstanding support of the service's Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system.
The service named the Air Force/Northrop Grumman team July Maintenance Team of the Month at the Central Air Force level for its support of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle deployed as part of the war on terrorism.
The team was praised for its success maintaining the system in a mission-ready state to support critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs.
The Air Force also named Eddie Evans, a Northrop Grumman Technical Services aircraft mechanic assigned to the U.S. Navy's Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration team, Civilian Employee of the Month for an aircraft maintenance squadron.
Evans subsequently won the Maintenance Group Civilian Employee of the Month and the Wing Civilian Employee of the Month awards. The Wing award is the highest level for such awards.
"I couldn't have done this alone," said Evans, an employee of Northrop Grumman's Information Technology sector. "I've been successful because of the support I get from the entire Northrop Grumman team, both in the field and at home." He attributed the award to the fact that he took the time to teach Air Force personnel not only about aircraft maintenance but also about launch and recovery procedures.
Northrop Grumman's Information Technology sector is a subcontractor to the Integrated Systems sector on the Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration for the Navy, providing professional operations and maintenance services.
The Northrop Grumman Global Hawk maintenance team has been named Maintenance Team of the Month three out of six months at the Wing level. In April, it was recognized for supporting the rigorous operational launch and recovery schedule. In May, the team rapidly responded during a divert landing. The members of the maintenance team, which includes subcontractors, volunteer for the job to support the operational deployment of the Global Hawk.
Through three deployments, Global Hawk has successfully completed more than 225 missions and more than 4,900 combat flight hours.
Designed and built for the Air Force by Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector, Global Hawk flies autonomously at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet, above inclement weather and prevailing winds, for more than 35 hours at a time. During a single mission, it can provide detailed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information in near-real time over 40,000 square miles - approximately the size of the state of Illinois.
Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., the Integrated Systems sector is a premier aerospace and defense systems integration organization. It designs, develops, produces and supports network-enabled integrated systems and subsystems optimized for use on networks. For its government and civil customers worldwide, Integrated Systems delivers best-value solutions, products and services that support military and homeland defense missions in the areas of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; space access; battle management command and control; and integrated strike warfare.