Finmeccanica and Northrop Grumman announce a Teaming Agreement to respond to NATO’s Cyber Security requirement

Rome, 19 December 2011 – Finmeccanica (FNC IM, SIFI.MI), through its Finmeccanica Cyber Solutions team, and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), announce today that they have signed a Teaming Agreement in order to respond to the proposal for the NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) – Full Operating Capability (FOC). This extensive managed service aims to provide information assurance to around 50 NATO sites and headquarters throughout 28 countries worldwide.

The NCIRC will provide the capability to detect and respond to cyber security threats and vulnerabilities rapidly and effectively. The project is intended to meet the level of ambition of NATO Head of States as set out during the Lisbon Summit in November 2010.

“This is a strong partnership which combines the capabilities, resources and expertise of both organisations spanning the UK, US and Italy and resulting in a superior proposal which best meets the requirements of this key NATO Programme”, said Alberto de Benedictis, Chief Executive Finmeccanica UK and Responsible for Finmeccanica Cyber Solutions.

"Northrop Grumman has a strong track record of providing the most advanced, integrated cyber security solutions across all domains for the US military, civilian government and private industry," said Mike Papay, vice president of Cyber Initiatives, Northrop Grumman Information Systems.  “Protecting networks from the growing cyber threat is a global challenge and we look forward to bringing to this industry partnership the resources, experience and expertise from across our company to ensure the best possible solution for the customer in this strategically important NATO programme."

About Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica plays a leading role in the global aerospace and defence industry, and participates in some of the sector’s biggest international programmes through its group companies and thanks to well-established alliances with European and US partners. A leader in the design and manufacture of helicopters, defence and security electronics, civil and military aircraft, aerostructures, satellites, space infrastructure and defence systems, Finmeccanica is Italy’s leading high-tech company. It also boasts significant manufacturing assets and expertise in the transport and energy sectors; it is listed on the Milan stock exchange and operates via a number of group companies and joint ventures. Finmeccanica Cyber Solutions represents the best of the sovereign cyber security capability. For over 20 years, the combined capability of the Finmeccanica operating companies has helped ensure the highest levels of cyber security and information assurance for those responsible for national resilience, counter terrorism, and military interoperability.

About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is an industry leader in all aspects of computer network operations and cyber security and is at the forefront of the challenge to find innovative solutions that can effectively defend networks and offer protection across the entire cyber domain. The company is developing the next-generation of advanced cyber solutions: from policy, governance and requirements, to software application, network development, training and operational support, we are positioned at every level to respond to customers’ cyber security needs.

Northrop Grumman has a well-established presence in the UK with specialist resources in cyber security and intelligence including at its Fareham facility, the first commercially available federated cyber test range in the UK.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Media Contacts:

Finmeccanica S.p.a.
Press Office
Tel.: +39 06 32 47 33 13
E-mail: ufficiostampa@finmeccanica.com

Finmeccanica UK
Clare Roberts
Communications Manager
Tel.: +44 (0) 73406132
E-mail: clare.roberts@finmeccanica.com

Northrop Grumman
Ken Beedle
Director International Communications
Tel. +44 (0) 7787 174092
E-mail: Ken.beedle@euro.ngc.com