L-3 Communications Awarded $32 Million Contract For NH-90 Helicopter Long Range Active Sonar

Business Wire, Jan 29, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2003

L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that a subsidiary of its Ocean Systems division, ELAC Nautik located in Kiel, Germany, has received a contract to provide the Helicopter Long Range Active Sonar (HELRAS) system for the European four nation NH-90 Helicopter Program.

The initial order is for 20 systems and is valued at over $32 million, and this order will support deliveries of NH-90 aircraft to the Italian and Dutch Navies over the next several years. Options for the remaining 40 systems of the Lot 1 production contract will follow, bringing the total contract value to over $65 million, with additional contracts anticipated for Lot 2 as well.

ELAC will provide the first five complete HELRAS systems and up to 55 HELRAS transmit/receive subsystems for the Lot 1 order. In addition, ELAC will assist in the technology transfer for major avionic and mechanical subsystems of HELRAS with European partners Galileo Avionica and Netherlands' Fokker Elmo.

L-3's HELRAS is the highest performance helicopter dipping sonar in the world, featuring long range, deep and shallow water surveillance capability, even against stealthy diesel electric submarines. HELRAS is also able to function as traditional dipping sonar for close-range contact prosecution. The HELRAS system has been successfully demonstrated against submarines ranging from 400 tons to over 2,000 tons in both deep and littoral ocean environments by a number of international navies, and provides up to ten times the detection range of its closest rival. The system's long-range performance offers far better defense against today's modern diesel electric threat, and allows the theater commander the flexibility to use the sonar in a wide-area surveillance role, in addition to the traditional role of relocation and attack. The greatly improved detection range translates into an overall reduction of deployed helicopter assets and/or a significant increase in helicopter search rate, while providing a significant reduction in operational cost.

"We are delighted that Europe has chosen HELRAS for the four nation NH-90 Helicopter Program," said Frank C. Lanza, chairman and chief executive officer of L-3 Communications. "This validates HELRAS' role as the emerging world standard of excellence in the field of anti-submarine warfare dipping sonar. This contract will enable the Italian, Dutch and German defense industries to serve their countries' NH-90 Helicopters with the most advanced long range dipping sonar on the market. Contracts such as this should be viewed as an example of a successful technology transfer between the U.S. and Europe, which helps to create a number of high technology jobs."

In addition to this award, HELRAS has also been chosen by Italy for the Agusta EH-101 helicopter and by Turkey and Greece for the Sikorsky S-70B helicopter. Additional orders are expected in 2003.

ELAC Nautik GmbH is based in Kiel, Germany and is a major supplier of sensors and sonar for submarines and surface vessels, underwater communication systems and navigation sounders, and a wide range of products for hydrographic and oceanographic applications.

L-3 Communications Ocean Systems is the world's leading supplier of Airborne Dipping Sonar and a leader in undersea warfare systems for a wide range of platforms, including helicopters, submarines and surface ships.

Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading merchant supplier of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) products, secure communications systems and products, avionics and ocean products, training products, microwave components and telemetry, instrumentation, space and wireless products. Its customers include the Department of Defense, selected US government intelligence agencies, aerospace prime contractors and commercial telecommunications and wireless customers.

To learn more about L-3 Communications, please visit the company's web site at www.L-3Com.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in the company's Safe Harbor Compliance Statement for Forward-looking Statements included in the company's recent filings, including Forms 10-K and 10-Q, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.