The competitively awarded, cost-plus incentive fee/award fee contract includes options for three low-rate initial production systems.

The company's VTUAV system was developed at the Ryan Aeronautical Center in San Diego, part of ISA's Air Combat Systems business unit based in El Segundo, Calif.

"We are delighted to be a member of the Navy's VTUAV team," said Ralph D. Crosby Jr., corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman ISA. "This win demonstrates the strategic importance of Northrop Grumman's acquisition of Ryan Aeronautical last year. "We integrated the unmanned systems capabilities from across Air Combat Systems to focus on this critical program. The capabilities of this team allowed a successful demonstration of our proposed VTUAV system, leading to this important award," addedd Crosby.

Northrop Grumman's Model 379 VTUAV air vehicle is based on an upgraded version of the Schweizer Model 330SP manned helicopter.

Northrop Grumman's VTUAV team includes Schweizer Aircraft Corporation, Elmira, N.Y.; Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, Owego, N.Y.; L-3 Communications, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Sierra Nevada Corporation, Sparks, Nev.

The team also includes Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector (ES3), based in Baltimore, Md., which is teamed with TAMAM-Israel Aircraft Industries and is responsible for the sensor payload.