NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - July 2, 2003 - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced today that the U.S. Navy has awarded the company a contract for the planning of an Extended Selected Restricted Availability (ESRA) on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector is the prime contractor for this award.

The contract is valued at approximately $10.4 million and will include tank preservation, propulsion and ship system repairs and limited enhancements to various hull, mechanical and electrical systems. Work is scheduled to begin in 2004.

Enterprise was launched at Northrop Grumman Newport News in 1960 and was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to join the U.S. Navy's fleet. Enterprise is 1,101 feet 2 inches with a flight deck width of 252 feet and a displacement of 89,600 tons. It can travel in excess of 30 knots.

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.