DRS Technologies Receives New Contract to Design and Produce Multi-function Command Consoles for U.K. Royal Navy.

Business Editors

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 2002

Consoles Support Mid-life Update Project for Hunt Class MCM Vehicles

DRS Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: DRS) announced today that it has received a contract to design and manufacture display consoles for the NAUTIS 3 Command and Control System Upgrade for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy.

For this new order, DRS's OPUS 2 Command System Consoles will be installed on Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vehicles (MCMV), as part of the Mid-Life Update program.

The $3 million award was received from Alenia Marconi Systems Ltd. (AMS), an Anglo-Italian joint venture of BAE Systems plc. (LSE: BA.L), U.K., and Finmeccanica SpA (Milan: SIFI.MI), Italy.

The company's DRS Rugged Systems (Europe) Ltd. unit in Farnham, Surrey, U.K., will perform work associated with this award, which will include adapting and supplying quantities of a side-by-side dual-display variant of the OPUS 2 Multi-Function Consoles, as well as providing training and reference sets. The systems are expected to be delivered to this customer commencing September 2002 and continuing through 2004.

"This award is one in a series recently received to provide our computer workstations to the Royal Navy and enhances the company's position as an international supplier of flat panel naval display consoles for advanced military applications," said Mark S. Newman, chairman, president and chief executive officer of DRS Technologies. "Offering a highly compliant, modular solution and commonality with other OPUS2 consoles we are supplying under previously awarded contracts, this new order builds on DRS's reputation as a recognized supplier in the design and production of high-quality, multi-function display systems for the U.K.'s Royal Navy. The innovative design features of the OPUS 2 console will be a key enhancement to the command and decision function of the Sonar 2193 Update Project."

OPUS 2 was developed with extensive consideration for modularity, conformance to defense ergonomic standards and versatility. Designed to support ease of technology insertion, the functionality of this console is expected to further evolve as new technology becomes available, delivering significant cost savings for customers well into the future.

The design of the OPUS 2 Multi-Function Console product line allows for fast customization for a variety of applications required for air, sea and land systems, including sonar, C3, weapons control and platform management. Modular and easily configurable, the console can be adjusted for vertical or horizontal use and is ideal for future display sizes. For this application, the systems will be supplied with integrated Sun(R) UltraSPARC(TM) VME electronics and dual 21.3-inch, 1,600 by 1,200-pixel, high-resolution displays.

Highly sophisticated vessels, the Hunt Class warships are the largest ever constructed of glass-reinforced plastic. They are fitted for both mine hunting and sweeping missions, and frequently support the Fishery Protection Squadron in U.K. waters.

OPUS 2 also has been selected to operate and control Sonar 2087, which is replacing the obsolete Sonar 2031 on Type 23 Duke Class frigates, and is a candidate for the antisubmarine warfare sensor of the Future Surface Combatant. In addition, it was selected to support Sonar 2093 for European Minesweepers, which is a highly capable, variable-depth, multi-mode mine hunting sonar.

AMS's NAUTIS 3 is the latest variant of the Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS)-based NAUTIS family of command systems already in service with the U.S. Navy, U.K. Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, among others. It controls all of the combat system equipment essential to MCM mission effectiveness.

DRS Technologies provides leading edge products and services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Focused on defense electronics, the company develops and manufactures a broad range of mission critical systems and components in the areas of communications, combat systems, rugged computers, electro-optics, power conversion equipment, data storage, digital imaging, flight safety and space.

For more information about DRS Technologies, please visit the company's web site at www.drs.com.

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    CONTACT: DRS Technologies, Inc., Parsippany
             Patricia M. Williamson, 973/898-1500

    KEYWORD: NEW JERSEY UNITED KINGDOM INTERNATIONAL EUROPE TRACK
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: AEROSPACE/DEFENSE COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS
GOVERNMENT MANUFACTURING
    SOURCE: DRS Technologies