L-3 communications awarded $17M option from Naval Air Systems Command.

L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL) has announced that L-3 Government Services, Inc. (L-3 GSI) and Link Simulation and Training have received a $17 million contract option from the Naval Air Systems Command to develop a second F/A-18C Distributed Mission Training (DMT) suite. Award of this contract option, combined with the initial contract award received by L-3 GSI and Link in December 2002, brings the total program value to $56.9 million.

In mid-2004, L-3 GSI, the prime contractor on the program, and Link, the organization building the pilot training devices, will deliver the first F/A-18C DMT suite to Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, VA. This suite will feature four F/A-18C Tactical Operational Flight Trainers (TOFTs) that will be networked to support mission training exercises.

The new contract option calls for the second suite of four F/A-18C TOFTs to be built and delivered to NAS Lemoore, CA in December 2004. The F/A-18C DMT suites at NAS Oceana and NAS Lemoore are part of the Naval Aviation Simulation Master Plan (NASMP), which calls for all of the service's assets that operate in the air, on land and at sea to train in a fully integrated, virtual battlespace.

Four high fidelity tactical operational flight trainers are at the center of each of the two F/A-18C DMT suites currently under development. The trainers will be integrated with Link's new personal computer image generation system, SimuView, to provide out-the-window and cockpit sensor imagery. The out-the-window imagery will be projected onto Link's SimuSphere visual display system. A nine-facet SimuSphere visual system display will provide pilots operating each of the F/A-18C TOFTs with a 360-degree out-the-window field-of-view of sky, terrain and targets.

L-3 GSI, based in Chantilly, VA, is a recognized industry leader providing a wide range of technology-based services, support and products to federal, state and local governments and to the private sector. Founded in 1979, L-3 GSI's primary business areas include training and simulation, information technology services, systems engineering, integrated security solutions, business and program management and intelligence community services. L-3 GSI is one of five contractors operating as a prime contractor for NAVAIR Orlando on the indefinite delivery; indefinite quantity FY2000 Training Systems Contract (Lot I) under which the F/A-18C DMT order was awarded. L-3 GSI is also a major provider of services and products to the U.S. Navy having major operations in China Lake, CA; Patuxent River, MD; and Orlando, FL.

Link Simulation and Training is a systems integration organization that delivers and supports training systems and equipment designed to enhance operational proficiency. Link's services include conducting front end analysis, simulator design and production, and field support. Link has its headquarters operation in Arlington, TX and other key bases of operation in Binghamton, NY, Orlando, FL, Broken Arrow, OK, and Phoenix, AZ.

Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading provider of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training and government services and is a merchant supplier of a broad array of high technology products. Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, selected U.S. Government intelligence agencies and aerospace prime contractors.