The office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) has approved Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Scalable Integrated Bridge System (SCIBS) to meet U.S. Navy requirements for electronic charting on board CG 47 class cruisers.

The CG SCIBS was developed by Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit and runs under Sperry Marine’s Voyage Management System (VMS) software. The CNO approval certifies that the SCIBS with VMS is operationally suitable and effective in meeting the Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems – Navy (ECDIS-N) standard.

“ECDIS-N technology represents a major breakthrough in marine navigation,” said J. Nolasco DaCunha, vice president of Sperry Marine. “Traditionally, the ship’s navigation team plotted courses and dead reckoning tracks manually on paper charts. With ECDIS-N, the ship’s position and movement are shown in real time on a digital chart, using automatic inputs from GPS and other installed navigation sensors. This means improved efficiency and situational awareness for bridge watchstanders.”

Currently, six of the CG 47 class ships are equipped with the CNO-approved Sperry Marine SCIBS. Six additional CGs are equipped with a full IBS, or Smartship configuration, which is an upgrade from SCIBS as it adds radar, steering and propulsion control integration. The Navy plans to have all of its 22 CGs equipped with either a full IBS or a SCIBS by 2008. Each of the ships will be required to complete an ECDIS-N navigation certification and navigation assessment prior to being authorized to use the system as the primary navigation plot.

“The Sperry Marine SCIBS with VMS will be the standard electronic navigation suite for the majority of U.S. Navy surface ships,” said DaCunha. “This approval will help to accelerate the transition to electronic charting throughout the fleet.”

DaCunha noted that Sperry Marine has supplied similar technology for hundreds of commercial vessels, such as tankers, container carriers and cruise ships, worldwide. The commercial VMS has been type-approved by national maritime authorities and classification societies to meet International Maritime Organization ECDIS specifications.

Sperry Marine, headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., and with major engineering and support offices in New Malden, United Kingdom and Hamburg, Germany, provides smart navigation and ship control solutions for the international marine industry with customer service and support through offices in 16 countries, sales representatives in 47 countries and authorized service depots in more than 250 locations worldwide.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

For commercial sales inquiries, contact Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine by phone, +1 (434) 974-2656 or by e-mail, sales_commercial@sperry.ngc.com. For military sales inquiries, call +1 (434) 974-2134 or e-mail sales_military@sperry.ngc.com. Visit our Web site at www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com.