Northrop Grumman Brings Internet to the Skies of Army Exercises

February 24, 2010 by Jeffrey Bradford · Comment
Filed under: Syndicated Industry News 
Northrop Grumman Brings Internet to the Skies of Army Exercises
February 24, 2010

Company's Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial System Delivers Critical Communications, Enhanced Situational Awareness to Remote Ground Troops

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -– Soldiers participating in the U.S. Army's recent Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE), Ft. Benning, Ga., were able to acquire unprecedented levels of knowledge about their surroundings thanks to the battlefield imaging and communications relay capabilities of Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Fire Scout vertical unmanned aerial system (VUAS).

Hovering 4,000 feet above the battlefield, Fire Scout offered
soldiers both high fidelity video imagery produced by its electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, and assured, Internet-like chat, file sharing and data transfers enabled by a Raytheon-produced communications payload.

"Fire Scout's delivery of assured communications to AEWE participants demonstrated yet another benefit of using vertical unmanned aerial systems to support warfighters, particularly those operating in remote, rugged territory," said Al Nikolaus, Northrop Grumman's Land-based Fire Scout program manager.

AEWE is an annual Army exercise designed to give soldiers a look at emerging battlefield technologies and concepts of operation. In addition to Fire Scout's communications relay demonstration, the VUAS was used to support cargo resupply missions and to ferry other types of unmanned systems to troops operating in remote areas.

For the communications relay missions, Fire Scout was equipped with a Mobile Ad hoc Interoperability Network GATEway (MAINGATE) communications payload. Installed in a pod attached to Fire Scout, the payload relayed communications among ground troops, allowing them to share high quality video, voice and data communications in real time.

Northrop Grumman also fed Fire Scout's EO/IR surveillance imagery into the MAINGATE network in real time, allowing soldiers to benefit from the VUAS' "perch and stare" view of the AEWE battlefield.

According to Nikolaus, one of the most significant aspects of the communications relay demo was how fast the payload was integrated on Fire Scout and flown successfully on multiple AEWE missions: from start to finish, the process took less than three months; installation, check-out and first flight of the MAINGATE hardware at AEWE took just one day.

"The success of the MAINGATE demo reinforces the maturity and versatility of Fire Scout's modular design," said Nikolaus. "Backed up by Northrop Grumman's expertise in unmanned systems, the system can deliver a lot of capability to the warfighter in very short order."

Fire Scout is an autonomous, unmanned helicopter based on a Sikorsky Aircraft commercial airframe. Equipped with a variety of EO/IR and communications payloads, it can provide high levels of situational awareness and precision targeting support to U.S. armed forces for more than five hours at a time. Fire Scout can take off and land autonomously on any aviation-capable warship, and at prepared and unprepared landing zones in proximity to ground troops. Its ability to operate at low ground speeds allows it to move with warfighters in the field, and easily acquire and track targets in complex and urban terrain. It can also perform 'dull, dirty, or dangerous' missions, thereby protecting soldiers from harm's way. Northrop Grumman is developing Fire Scout vertical unmanned systems for a variety of U.S. and international military customers.


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Rolls-Royce To Build New Engine Controls For OH-58D

February 23, 2010 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Events, Military Aviation, Rolls-Royce, Services, U.S. Army, development program, logistics, production program 

The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior is the standard reconnaissance helicopter in use by the U.S. Army. As all Army Aviation it has seen a great deal of use in Iraq. Ultimately it will be replaced by the result of the current Armed Aerial Scout program. This replaced the failed Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program which was canceled in 2008. Due to this failure the Army must continue to invest money into the OH-58 to keep it fighting.

Rolls-Royce was awarded a contract to develop a new Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) for the aircraft. This system is one of the key components of the upgrades to the aircraft. No value for the contract was provided. FADEC systems are becoming common on helicopters and fixed wing aircraft and aid in managing fuel consumption and performance. Rolls-Royce manufactures the M250 engines for the Kiowa Warrior at their plant in Indianapolis.

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Raytheon-Developed Unmanned Ground Control System Completes Major Milestone — Press Release

November 20, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Companies, Press Releases, Raytheon 

Raytheon-Developed Unmanned Ground Control System Completes Major Milestone

Adding Tactical Control System will enhance future Navy missions

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Nov. 19, 2009 /PRNewswire/ — Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) achieved a key milestone for the U.S. Navy as the Tactical Control System (TCS) was deployed recently on the USS McInerney to support a counternarcotics mission in Central America as part of the MQ-8B Fire Scout program.

“This truly is a critical milestone on our road to success toward a full fleet introduction on Littoral Combat Ships,” said Capt. Tim Dunigan, U.S. Navy. “Deploying Fire Scout aboard the USS McInerney will allow for the continued maturation of our system while increasing the warfighting effectiveness of the ship.”

The U.S. Navy TCS system provides an opportunity to develop a low-risk, low-cost and effective common ground control system for full range of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) across multiple agencies. TCS is the only system that exhibits key enablers such as common system framework, open documented interfaces and air-certified software, while giving the government unlimited rights necessary to develop UAS control across the spectrum of missions, applications and air vehicles.

“This is a huge step for the TCS program,” said Ravindra Nirgudkar, program manager for Raytheon’s Tactical Control System. “This deployment solidifies TCS’ position as the future ground control system not only for the U.S. Navy but also with other services.”

Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems is a leading provider of intelligence and information solutions, specializing in ground processing, unmanned ground systems, cybersecurity solutions, homeland security and other markets to resolve the most complex problems for its customers worldwide. IIS had 2008 revenues of $3.1 billion and employs more than 9,000 engineering and technical professionals worldwide.

Raytheon Company with 2008 sales of $23.2 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 87 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.

Contact:
Keith Little
703.849.1675

Source: Raytheon Company

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