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Northrop Grumman Highlights Global Security Capabilities at Singapore Air Show 2012

LONDON — Feb. 7, 2012 — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) will highlight a wide range of its global security capabilities and programmes at the Singapore Air Show, including airborne early warning and control systems, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), fire control radars and infrared countermeasures.

The air show is Asia’s largest aerospace and defence event and one of the world’s top three air shows. It takes place from 14-19 Feb. at the Changi Exhibition Centre (CEC) located near Changi Airport. The Northrop Grumman Chalet is No. CD01.

“Our customer base across Southeast Asia is extremely important to us. Singapore is a key market, one in which we have considerable capabilities and a wide range of products to offer,” said Bill Schaefer, sector vice president of business development for the company’s Aerospace Systems sector. “Northrop Grumman’s technology leadership and proven capability in many areas, including airborne early warning and control and aerial surveillance, are well matched to meeting the region’s growing defence and security needs.”

The company will feature its family of Q-4 High Altitude Long Endurance aircraft such as the MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS), and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.

Based on the combat-proven RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS, the BAMS UAS is a versatile maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system to support a variety of missions while operating independently or in direct collaboration with fleet assets. When operational, BAMS will play a key role in providing commanders with a persistent, reliable picture of surface threats, covering vast areas of open ocean and littoral regions, significantly augmenting the use of other manned assets to execute surveillance and reconnaissance tasks.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye programme couples a newly designed electronically scanned radar with a matching suite of sensors, avionics, processors, software and displays to provide the most technologically advanced command and control capability available worldwide. The AN/APY-9 radar with a two-generation leap in capability is the backbone of this aircraft and provides greater flexibility and significantly improved detection and tracking over all terrains. To date, Northrop Grumman has delivered seven E-2Ds to the U.S. Navy. The programme is on track for Initial Operational Test and Evaluation in 2012 and Initial Operational Capability in the U. S. Navy fleet in 2015. An E-2D tactical work station will be available to demonstrate the capabilities and functionality of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye for military and civilian applications.

The company’s industry-leading Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) programmes will also be featured. A model of the corporation’s newest AESA fighter sensor, the Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), will be on display. SABR is designed as a retrofit for existing Block 52 and previous F-16 aircraft and is scalable to fit other aircraft platforms and mission areas.

Northrop Grumman is the world leader in airborne fire control radar. As the world’s sole supplier of fire control radars for fifth-generation fighters, the company supplies the AESA fire control radars for the F-35 and F-22. In addition, a range of sensor systems will be highlighted, including directional infrared countermeasures; AN/APR-39B(V)2 suite of integrated sensors and countermeasures; the LITENING advanced airborne targeting and navigation pod; and the electro-optical Distributed Aperture System through the F-35.

As a principal and founding member of the F-35 industry team led by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman is responsible for the design and production of centre fuselages for all three variants of F-35 aircraft: conventional takeoff and landing; short takeoff, vertical landing; and a carrier variant. Northrop Grumman completes the F-35 centre fuselages – the core structures around which the aircraft are built – at its Palmdale, Calif., facility.

Additionally, the company produces the aircraft’s communications subsystems; develops mission systems and mission-planning software; leads the team’s development of pilot and maintenance training system courseware; and manages the team’s use, support and maintenance of low-observable technologies.

Other capabilities that will be featured are the company’s state-of-the-art Electronic Support Measures system and Early Warning Self Protection that are currently part of the U.S. Navy P-8A airborne maritime patrol programme. The S-Band long-range AN/TPS-78 mobile radar system will also be highlighted.

Northrop Grumman has well established relationships with Singapore and other countries in the region, and has been supporting a number of defence and civil programmes there for more than 20 years. The company has offices across Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region: Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore, New Delhi and Canberra.

An online media kit containing brochures, photos and videos of featured programmes can be found at: http://www.northropgrumman.com/singapore/ .

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security 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.

February 12, 2012 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Test Autonomous Aerial Refueling for Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration

“These tests are a critical step toward proving that the X-47B can perform autonomous aerial refueling using either the Navy’s probe-and-drogue refueling technique or the U.S. Air Force’s boom/receptacle approach,” said Carl Johnson, vice president and UCAS-D program manager for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. “Future unmanned systems will need to use both refueling techniques if they plan to conduct longer range surveillance or strike missions from the carrier.”

Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Test Autonomous Aerial Refueling for Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration

Surrogate Testing With Learjet Validates Flight Control Algorithms, Vision Systems That Will Enable Autonomous Refueling Operations

January 26, 2012

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Jan. 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Navy have successfully completed a series of flight tests to demonstrate technology that could help extend the operating range and flight duration of future carrier-based unmanned systems.

The flight tests, completed Jan. 21 in St. Augustine, proved the functionality of the hardware and software that will enable the X-47B unmanned aircraft to demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) in 2014.

The AAR activity is part of the Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. Northrop Grumman is the Navy’s UCAS-D prime contractor.

“These tests are a critical step toward proving that the X-47B can perform autonomous aerial refueling using either the Navy’s probe-and-drogue refueling technique or the U.S. Air Force’s boom/receptacle approach,” said Carl Johnson, vice president and UCAS-D program manager for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. “Future unmanned systems will need to use both refueling techniques if they plan to conduct longer range surveillance or strike missions from the carrier.”

The AAR tests were conducted by a Northrop Grumman/Navy team using Calspan Corporation’s (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) Variable Stability Learjet as the X-47B surrogate aircraft, and a K707 tanker provided by Omega Air Refueling (Alexandria, Va.). The tests included simulated flight demonstrations of both boom/receptacle and probe-and-drogue aerial refueling techniques. No fuel was exchanged between the aircraft during the test events, however.

The Learjet surrogate was equipped with real or functional equivalents of the navigation systems, flight control processor and vision system that the X-47B will use to conduct refueling operations. The aircraft contained no refueling receptacle or refueling probe. The K707, which is nearly identical in size and shape to an Air Force KC-135, was equipped with a Navy style refueling drogue only.

For each simulated refueling event, the Learjet/X-47B surrogate was piloted to a rendezvous position approximately one nautical mile from the tanker. Then the pilot transferred control of the aircraft to the X-47B’s autonomous flight control processor, which controlled the Learjet during the test event.

During a typical refueling event, the tanker operator or a mission operator on the ground commanded the Learjet to fly, in sequence, to each of the major positions associated with aerial refueling: (1) the pre-tanking observation point off one wing of the tanker; (2) the refueling contact position behind the tanker; and (3) the post-tanking “reform” position off the other wing of the tanker.

“These flights demonstrated empirically that an unmanned system can conduct aerial refueling operations with accuracy and precision,” said Pablo Gonzalez, program manager for Northrop Grumman’s UCAS-D AAR program. “The aircraft never gets tired, and it responds exactly the same way to operator commands every time.”

“The X-47B will use a hybrid GPS/vision-based relative navigation system in conjunction with its autonomous flight control system to establish and maintain a precise distance between tanker and the receiver aircraft,” he added.

The Northrop Grumman/Navy test team plans to conduct additional AAR surrogate testing using the same aircraft when flight-qualified versions of the relevant X-47B hardware and software become available.

The UCAS-D program plans to demonstrate in 2013 the ability of the tailless, autonomous, low-observable relevant X-47B demonstrator to safely operate from a Navy aircraft carrier, including launch, recovery, bolter and wave-off performance, followed by the autonomous aerial refueling in 2014. The program also plans to mature technologies required for potential future Navy unmanned air system programs. For the latest X-47B news and information, please visit www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/nucasx47b/.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security 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.

January 26, 2012 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.