Northrop Grumman and ATK Successfully Test Minuteman III Stage 1 for U.S. Air Force

PROMONTORY, Utah, Oct. 24, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)
and ATK (NYSE:ATK) successfully ground-tested a Minuteman III Stage 1 solid
rocket motor for the United States Air Force as part of the Minuteman Solid
Rocket Motor Warm Line (SRMWL) program at ATK's test facility in Utah.

This test was the second Production Quality Assurance (PQA) ground test of the
SRMWL Stage 1. The first Stage 1 PQA was successfully tested on March 24, 2011.
The SRMWL is designed to sustain critical propulsion-related skills to ensure
the weapon system can be sustained. The Minuteman III program began in 1966 and
currently maintains 450 missiles deployed at three missile wings.

"We prepare for and assess every ICBM test very rigorously, and the success of
this Stage 1 test provides one more point of assurance of the integrity and
reliability of the ICBM weapon system today and the solid rocket motor
industrial base for the years to come," said Tony Spehar, vice-president of
Northrop Grumman's Missile Systems business unit. Northrop Grumman is the ICBM
prime contractor and responsible for overall sustainment of the ICBM weapon
system.

As part of the SRMWL program, up to ten motor sets over two years will be
manufactured by ATK under contract to Northrop Grumman at ATK facilities in
Utah. The objective of the SRMWL's PQA testing is to demonstrate the motors
perform as designed. Each of the three stages is tested every year. Ground tests
for Stage 2 and 3 are conducted in altitude chambers at Air Force's Arnold
Engineering Development Center in Tennessee and each was successfully tested
this past summer.

"This successful test demonstrates that the motors produced under the warm line
contract are fully representative of deployed first stage ICBM motors," said
Scott Lehr, ATK Aerospace Systems vice president and general manager of
Strategic and Commercial Systems. The warm line program also maintains the
critical skills, infrastructure and supplier base necessary to produce ICBM
propulsion hardware in the future."

The refurbished Stage 1 case used in this test originally entered operational
inventory in January 1961. ATK has manufactured over 4,000 Minuteman motors over
the life of the program. The company recently completed a successful 10-year
Minuteman Propulsion Replacement Program that produced approximately 1,800
re-manufactured motors.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman is a leading global defense company providing innovative
systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems,
and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please
visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information

About ATK

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in
23 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally, and revenues of approximately $4.8
billion. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-looking
statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that
its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to
certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: changes in
governmental spending, budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the
company's competitive environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts;
and economic conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact
ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and
current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.

CONTACT: Northrop Grumman Media Contact:
Bob Bishop
Phone: 310-812-5227
E-mail: bob.j.bishop@ngc.com

ATK Media Contact:
Trina Patterson
Phone: 801-699-0943
E-mail: trina.patterson@atk.com