Litton Ingalls Unveils new Integrated Topside Demonstration System

PASCAGOULA, Mississippi, April 19, 2000 -- Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding, a Litton Ship Systems Company and the leader of the DD 21 Gold Team, recently unveiled its Integrated Topside Demonstration System. The system, previously reviewed by representatives of the U. S. Navy's DD 21 Program Office, has been under development for the past year and a half, and showcases the integrated implementation of a variety of technologies available to the U.S. Navy for application on DD 21, the Navy's new Land Attack Destroyer.

The DD 21 Gold Team is a fully integrated team consisting of Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding, Raytheon, and The Boeing Company. This DD 21 Gold Team partnership enjoys the support of more than 30 geographic and technically diverse companies throughout the United States and Canada and several U. S. Navy Warfare Centers, that provide unique technical expertise. The Gold Team has successfully completed its Phase I Concept Design and its first Phase II major review with U.S. Navy Program Office, PMS 500, and is fully engaged in completion of its Initial System Design.

To develop the system and demonstrate that the topside technologies were mature enough to be integrated into a warship application with minimum risk, Ingalls teamed with six other companies.

Each of these companies is a recognized expert in their respective field, a well-known provider of military or commercial equipment, or both. The six companies include the Telecommunications Products Division of Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation; Temeku Technologies, Incorporated; the Command, Control, Communication and Information Systems Segment and Radar Laboratory of Raytheon Systems Company; Litton Advanced Systems; Litton Winchester Electronics; and Litton Data Systems.

The primary source of funding for the effort was from the companies' Independent Research and Development Programs.

"This is an outstanding project, and its results can be extremely beneficial to the Navy in its DD 21 Program and others," said Jerry St. P1, Chief Operating Officer of Litton Ship Systems, and Executive Vice President of Litton Industries (NYSE: LIT). "In fact, it includes technologies that can be applied in the 21st Century to all classes of ships. The teamwork demonstrated by all the companies in this project has been impressive. This cooperative spirit will be enhanced as we progress through Phase II of the DD 21 Program and into Phase III."

Special emphasis was placed throughout the development to incorporate technology advances that would improve signature performance at less cost and reduced risk. The development was conducted in an Integrated Product Team environment with Ingalls craftsmen working side by side with participating company engineers.

The structure of the System is formed from composite material and was manufactured and assembled at Ingalls' Composite Facility. A vacuum infusion process, which consistently results in a producible, low maintenance product that is comparable in cost to steel construction was used. Integrated into this supporting structure are embedded state-of-the-art low radar cross section phased arrays, conformal antennas, remote illumination systems for navigation and exterior lighting, windows, composite air intakes, counter measure washdown nozzles, and a quick-acting watertight composite door. Installed in the interior is a shock and vibration-qualified flat panel display. Many of these are second generation or later systems, some of which (like the composite door) will be evaluated aboard active U. S. Navy ships. The resulting surfaces are relatively seamless and smooth and will provide improved performance in reducing radar cross section.

"The development of the Integrated Topside Demonstration System is the outgrowth of Ingalls' past independent R&D work," said Ingalls President Pat Keene, "and our company's ongoing work with the Navy in developing high quality/low cost composite structures and integrated topsides." In addition to Ingalls' building and installing the Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor onboard USS RADFORD (DD 968) in 1997, Ingalls-led industry teams designed and built a composite helicopter hangar and a half-scale DDG 51 mast in the early 1990s that, under Navy sponsorship, successfully survived air blast testing.

Ingalls continues to be active in developing and testing composite structure designs for fire resistance, radar cross section reduction, metal-composite and composite-composite joints, and electromagnetic shielding, as well as unique items such as the composite doors now being installed aboard USS LASSEN (DDG 82), and planned for installation aboard USS MONTEREY (CG 61). Ingalls is also under contract to lead industry teams for the Navy's DDG 51 Flight IIA Composite Hangar Project, the Low Observable Multifunction Stack, and the Rubicon Antenna (formerly the Multifunction Electromagnetic Radiating System) Advanced Technology Demonstrations. Moreover, Litton Avondale Industries is jointly developing with Ingalls a world class composite structures manufacturing facility in Gulfport, Mississippi.

The Integrated Topside Demonstration System is on schedule for final antenna integration and completion later this year. Testing planned for the System will include antenna and lighting system performance and radar cross section measurements. Results of this testing will be made available to the DD 21 Gold Team for consideration as part of their overall design.

Litton Ship Systems (LSS), headquartered in Pascagoula, Mississippi, includes Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding and the Litton Ship Systems Full Service Center, both located in Pascagoula, as well as Litton Avondale Industries, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. LSS, which currently employs more than 17,000 shipbuilding professionals, primarily in Mississippi and Louisiana, is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types. LSS has a firm business backlog exceeding $5.6 billion, in a variety of naval and commercial shipbuilding programs.

Litton Industries (NYSE: LIT) is also a leading information technology (IT) contractor to the U.S. government and provides specialized IT services to commercial and government customers in local and international jurisdictions. Litton provides defense and commercial electronics technology, components, and materials for customers worldwide. Headquartered in Woodland Hills, California, the company has more than 40,000 employees.