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Northrop submits NATO AGS proposal

Mar 30

JobelleNews Block 30 Global Hawk, Block 40 Global Hawk, Global Hawk, NATO AGS, NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance, Northrop Grumman, Pat McMahon, RQ-4, rq-4 Global Hawk 2 Comments

Last week, Northrop Grumman Corporation’s final proposal was submitted for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) core capability – a trans-Atlantic cooperation that will meet the security challenges of the 21st century.

Pat McMahon, sector vice president of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems’ Battle Management & Engagement Systems Division, said that ”The updated proposal offers an affordable, executable program that will provide an operationally relevant system to the Alliance.”

Based on the Block 40 configuration of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft, the NATO AGS system will provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to ground, maritime and air commanders, anytime and anywhere in the world.

They will be equipped with Northrop Grumman’s Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) ground surveillance radar sensor, which will be capable of detecting and tracking moving objects throughout the observed areas as well as providing radar imagery of target locations and stationary objects. It also includes an air segment consisting of six Block 40 Global Hawks that will be missionized to meet NATO requirements.

“As NATO’s highest acquisition priority and Europe’s highest visibility program, NATO AGS also represents the first international sale of the Block 40 Global Hawk,”said Matt Copija, director of Northrop Grumman’s NATO AGS program.

Flying up to 60,000 feet for more than 32 hours, the combat-proven Global Hawk has flown more than 53,000 hours. The U.S. Air Force Block 30 Global Hawks continue to fly relief support missions over Japan in response to the tragic 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami, and are also supporting the NATO-led coalition effort in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn over Libya.

Source: aviation news.eu, photo from Google images