The U.S. Army granted a $31.2 million contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. to update technology that warns military personnel about missile launches and gives combatants enough time to “duck and cover.”
The work will be done at the company’s Colorado Springs and Azusa, Calif., facilities, adding between 15 and 20 skilled, highly-technical jobs in engineering and software in Colorado.
The contract includes both development and implementation of the next generation, which involves upgrades and the continuation of service through 2022. Northrop Grumman developed the first generation of Joint Tactical Ground Station, or JTAGS, in 1994.
“What the JTAG system does is it gets the information from the satellites, processes the information, and then extracts data or information to tell the operators where there are missile launches on the earth’s surface,” said Ed Bush, vice president of Northrop Grumman’s electronic systems sector.
The updates will improve the existing program in a number of areas. The team has developed new algorithms that will give commanders greater situational awareness, improved accuracy in pinpointing launch points, and a complete modernization of the program’s processes.
“The original system really concentrated more on missile warning, so you are getting the support of more missions and activities,” Bush said. “From an overall cost perspective, we are driving to make it the most cost effective for the army by relying more on commercial products.”
Kristen Leigh Painter: 303-954-1638, kpainter@denverpost.com or
