5 August 2002

Dayton – 5 August 2002 - Smiths Aerospace has received a contract from Northrop Grumman to provide a new main generator system for the Global Hawk, the United States Air Force newest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program. The system will be manufactured at the Smiths Aerospace facility in Ohio.

Under this contract, the generator system will more than double existing electrical power on the Global Hawk. Deliveries will begin in June 2003 for aircraft integration, test and flight demonstration. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2004. The U.S. Air Force forecasts a need for 50 Global Hawk’s through 2015. There is also significant interest from international customers, the U.S. military and for homeland defense.

John Ferrie, Group Managing Director for Smiths Aerospace, noted, “We are investing in new electrical power technologies and integrated systems across a range of military and civil applications. Electrical power has significant growth opportunities for Smiths. UAVs and UCAVs are an important market for us.”