BAE Systems Business Honored with Top Engineering Rating.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- BAE Systems Ground Systems, a leading producer of ground vehicles to the U.S. military, has received Level 5 certification against the Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). This is the highest level rating that an engineering organization can achieve. The designation was awarded after an independent two-week investigation led by the Systems and Software Productivity Consortium which involved in-depth interviews and document reviews.

"This is a great achievement; CMMI Level 5 is an indicator of how our process improvements compare to our competitors and has been a factor in our ability to win contracts over the last several years," said Ann Hennon, director of Core Process and Training for Ground Systems. "Achieving and maintaining this rating lets our customers know that they can count on us to provide the products and services they expect."

More than 100 Ground Systems employees from three different sites - Santa Clara, California; Orlando, Florida; and York, Pennsylvania - in 10 different functional areas from Engineering and Project Management - were surveyed. As part of this process, the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, now requires validation of the results certified by the appraisal team, thus raising the bar of the appraisal process. In all, more than 2000 artifacts such as drawings, designs, documents and video were reviewed.

CMMI is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes. It can be used to guide process improvement across a project, a division, or an entire organization. CMMI helps integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of reference for appraising current processes.

A rating of CMMI Level 5 requires Ground Systems to have and follow a defined set of processes, evaluate implementation of those processes and seek ways to improve the company's methods used to develop and build products.

"We are continually seeking ways to improve our ability to develop products for our customers," Hennon continued. "Our focus over the last couple of years has been expanding industry best practices across all engineering functions and development sites within Ground Systems. Achieving a rating of CMMI Level 5 is a clear indication the organization is implementing those best practices."

Ground Systems began implementing CMMI practices within the software engineering organization in 1996. This allowed the company to be in a position to be awarded the lead for software development on the Future Combat Systems' Manned Ground Vehicle program.

Covered in the CMMI Level 5 certification are the Training Systems Group at the company's Orlando facility, York's Systems Engineering community and the Santa Clara-based Modeling Simulation Analysis and Test group, including the Combat Simulation and Integration Laboratory, a state-of-the-art lab where combat vehicle integration and test activities are conducted. The certification also covers Systems, Software, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. Of note, York's Systems Engineering group increased from a Level 3 to a Level 5.

The company expects to continue expanding implementation of CMMI practices across other areas of the organization in the future.

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems is the premier global defense and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With approximately 100,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded 15.7 billion (US $31.4 billion) in 2007.