Click on photo for high resolution image Mike Butler, director of Aircraft Carrier Operations for Northrop Grumman Newport News

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., June 16, 2003 – Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Newport News sector announced today that Mike Butler, director of Aircraft Carrier Operations, has been selected to receive the 2003 William M. Kennedy Award for Outstanding Service and Contribution in the Development of Systems and Planning Applying to Shipbuilding and Ship Repair from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME). The award will be presented to Butler at SNAME’s World Maritime Technology Exposition in October.

Butler is being recognized for the key planning and production control initiatives he has led over the past 23 years at Northrop Grumman Newport News. His experience includes assignments in aircraft carrier construction and overhaul, engineering, submarine construction, surface combatant repair and refurbishment, commercial construction, and steel fabrication.

In his current position, Butler is responsible for the planning and production control of the design and construction of the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and George H. W. Bush (CVN 77). He oversees the planning and production control for the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) refueling and complex overhaul and he leads the engineering planning effort for the design of the next generation aircraft carrier, CVN 21. He is also planning for the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) refueling and complex overhaul and for maintenance work on the USS Enterprise (CVN 65), both scheduled for next year.

SNAME is an internationally recognized nonprofit, technical, professional society of individual members serving the maritime and offshore industries and their suppliers. Founded in 1893, the Society comprises over 10,000 individuals throughout the United States, Canada and abroad.

Northrop Grumman Newport News, headquartered in Newport News Va., is the nation’s sole designer, builder, and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two companies capable of designing and building nuclear powered submarines. Newport News also provides after-market services for a wide array of naval and commercial vessels. The Newport News sector employs about 18,000 people.