Cubic Awarded $24 Million SPAWAR Contract to Develop Weapons Threat Assessment Software.

SAN DIEGO -- The defense segment of Cubic Corporation (AMEX: CUB) has received a three-year, $24 million contract from the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to develop new software tools to help the U.S. military prepare for enemy attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons.

Cubic will design, develop, test and support the fielding of the new software applications as prime contractor for the Joint Operational Effects Federation (JOEF) program. Ultimately, the Department of Defense (DoD) and all branches of the U.S. armed forces will use the JOEF tools to assess and plan for CBRN threats to U.S. military air, land, and sea operations.

"The JOEF software is going to revolutionize the way the Department of Defense conducts CBRN preparation activities," said Dr. Tom Stark, principal scientist for Cubic's Threat Technologies Division in Kingstowne, Virginia. "The software will standardize and automate estimating processes, and also add analytical underpinning."

Cubic personnel in Kingstowne and San Diego will work with both DoD and all in-theater combatant commands to determine user requirements. Cubic is expected to deliver a base set of networked, collaborative modeling, analysis and workflow management tools during the first two years of the program. These tools will help DoD and service users formally assess CBRN impacts from an opposing military force, so planners can coordinate logistics support to prepare for the threats.

"The planning process now is fairly non-analytical and based on the subjective judgments of each service," Stark said. "The new tool will automate the planning process, and offer modeling and simulation tools to improve analysis. It will also drive a standardization of the planning process among all branches of the armed forces."

Jim Balentine, senior vice president in charge of Cubic's Mission Support Business Unit, said the new JOEF software development contract represents a first for Cubic - designing and developing software applications used for military operations.

"In addition to possible program expansion, we expect that this work will lead to additional opportunities," Balentine said.

In addition to military operations, the JOEF software could eventually be used in computer-based simulations used for training combat forces. Balentine noted that Cubic already has considerable experience at planning and executing constructive computer-based simulations used to prepare combat units for an operational deployment, and is now adding software development capabilities.

The Threat Technologies Division is part of the Mission Support Business Unit of the Cubic Defense Applications Group (CDA), one of Cubic Corporation's two major segments. CDA is a world leader in realistic combat training systems, mission support services and defense electronics. The corporation's other major segment, Cubic Transportation Systems, designs and manufactures automatic fare collection systems for public mass transit authorities. For more information about Cubic, see the company's website at www.cubic.com.