After missing out on two large non-defense contracts from the government in the past month, Northrop Grumman Corp. said Tuesday that it has received a $79 million contract from the U.S. Army.

The Los Angeles-based defense contractor will supply the Army with more than 300 Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder systems, mainly used in conjunction with laser-guided, GPS-guided and conventional munitions.

Deliveries for the systems are scheduled to begin in June of next year with completion near 2009. The work will be done at the company’s Apopka, Fla., facility.

Last month, Northrop was passed over for two multi-billion contracts to build a new space vehicle for NASA as well as implementation of a new boarder security system for the Department of Homeland Security. Each contract was worth an estimate $8 billion.

Shares in Northrop were up 3 cents to $69.37 in early trading Tuesday.