RESTON, Va., 29 June 2009. Northrop Grumman Corp. will develop the software architecture for the Virtual Integrated Support for Information Operations eNvironment (VisIOn) system, which will provide situational awareness and mission planning capabilities for information operations across all U.S. military commands.

Information operations employs electronic warfare, cyber network operations, military deception, psychological warfare, and operations security to disrupt enemy decision-making, while protecting information necessary for U.S. warfighters to make critical decisions.

Under the task order, Northrop Grumman will provide a VisIOn baseline system integrated upon a network-centric, service-oriented architecture. The task order is the first phase of the VisIOn program and was awarded through the Defense Information Systems Agency's Encore II umbrella contract.

VisIOn is a cyber-based mission planning tool for the information operations warfighter. It is an easy-to-use, web-based program to develop a specific and deliberate course of action based on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data coming in from across the battle space, company officials say. VisIOn will monitor the information operations situation by continually mining intelligence data from a wide array of sources, ensure situational awareness to warfighters, evaluate potential plans, and develop and execute appropriate courses of action.

"Information is more critical than ever to the success of our warfighters, and VisIOn will help commanders collect, protect and use that information to plan and execute critical missions," says Kathy Warden, vice president of the Cyber and Signals Intelligence Systems business unit within Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. "Northrop Grumman understands the necessity of providing warfighters the best possible information operations mission planning capability. To that end, we have established a team to employ subject matter experts with critical information operations field experience."

U.S. Joint Forces Command and U.S. Strategic Command have formed a strategic partnership to develop, manage, and execute VisIOn with oversight by the Pentagon's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

The Northrop Grumman VisIOn team includes Booz-Allen Hamilton in McLean, Va.; Bientech International in La Jolla, Calif; Juno Technologies Inc. in Rancho Sante Fe, Calif; Pathway Project Management Enterprises LLC in Charleston, S.C.; APG Technologies LLC in Potomac Falls, Va.; MBA-VETS LLC in Suffolk, Va.; and Syzygy Technology Inc. and Dragon Research and Engineering, both of San Diego.