Air Force renews contracts for EDO electronic defenses on B-1B bomber

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, May 26, 2003

EDO Corporation (NYSE:EDO) has received two B-1B program awards in support of the battle-tested AN/ALQ-161 defensive system on the B-1B bomber.

The funding under these awards totals $11.2 million, bringing the total B-1B program awards thus far in 2003 to approximately $21 million. These awards reflect the Air Force's current focus on maintaining and upgrading the bomber's existing ALQ-161 defensive suite. The ALQ-161 has proven to be extremely effective in recent military campaigns, including Afghanistan and Iraq. The awards were issued by the ALQ-161 Program Office at Robins AFB in Georgia.

The first award was for 12 months of engineering support under a new 10-year ID/IQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) contract. The task covers sustaining engineering services, which include software-test-facility support, mission-data-optimization analysis, technical studies and analysis, software testing, and diminishing-manufacturing-sources studies. The second award covers continued support for sub-assembly repairs over the next 6 to 24 months.

"The current B-1B configuration, which employs our fully integrated electronic countermeasures system, has proven itself in combat to be a virtually impenetrable defense against both air and ground attack," said James M. Smith, EDO's chief executive officer. "We are pleased that the Air Force has recognized this performance by funding further upgrades to this defensive suite."

EDO Corporation provides military products and professional services to the United States and allied governments, and their prime defense contractors. EDO focuses on systems and subsystems that are integral to the success of long-term military platforms, such as the B-1B bomber, the F/A-22, the Joint Strike Fighter, and the Comanche Helicopter. Examples of the company's highly engineered products include aircraft weapon-release systems, ship and aircraft self-protect systems, and high-performance composite structures. The company also has a number of high-performance commercial product lines.