by: The Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A defense manufacturer in north Alabama has won a $1.4 billion contract to produce an advanced wartime control system for the Army.

The Pentagon says Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Huntsville was awarded the deal after the military received two bids for the work. The Defense Department says the company will produce the Integrated Battle Command System.

Northrop Grumman describes the system as an integrated hardware and software product that locates, tracks, and defeats air and missile threats. Work is supposed to be done in five years.