• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman SABR selected for F-16 AESA upgrade

  1st August 2013

  Northrop Grumman will supply its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) for the US Air Force and Taiwan F-16 radar modernisation and upgrade programme, following the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky may win presidential helicopter by default

  1st August 2013

  All but one of the three major industry teams expected to compete for the US VXX Helicopter Replacement Program have dropped out, blaming anti-competitive requirements. AgustaWestland …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Inquiry investigates Euro Hawk failures

  30th July 2013

  An official inquiry has revealed how a series of management failures was to blame for the demise of Germany’s Euro Hawk programme, it has emerged. …

• Defence Notes

  Impact of sequestration yet to come

  25th July 2013

  Leading companies in the defence sector have yet to see any great effect of US sequestration as demonstrated by figures for the first half of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Navy receives first upgraded Fire Scout

  25th July 2013

  Northrop Grumman has delivered the first MQ-8C upgraded Fire Scout UAV to the US Navy, the company announced on 19 July. The upgraded VTOL UAV …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman wins contract for E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes

  22nd July 2013

  The US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract for long lead materials and related support for five full-rate production Lot 2 …

• Military Logistics

  Northrop Grumman wins UK MoD countermeasures contract

  18th July 2013

  Northrop Grumman will support the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) systems on British military aircraft under a new contract awarded by the UK Ministry of …

• Digital Battlespace

  Third AEHF makes final preparations before launch

  17th July 2013

  The USAF has announced that it has transported its third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Stations (CCAFS) ahead …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Malfunction sees X-47B abort final carrier landing

  12th July 2013

  A malfunction on board the X-47B UAV forced the air vehicle to abort its third test-landing on the US Navy aircraft carrier, USS George H W Bush, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  X-47B completes carrier landing

  10th July 2013

  The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) has become the first unmanned jet to complete an arrested landing on board a moving aircraft carrier. The US Navy …

• Defence Helicopter

  Crowsnest edges closer to assessment phase

  9th July 2013

  After a two-year delay in funding, the UK’s development of a new helicopter-based early warning radar system is gathering momentum – although critical capability gaps …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Stalemate continues for major Euro UAVs

  8th July 2013

  Progression of two of Europe’s most high-profile UAV programmes continues to be questioned as rumours of delay and cancellation rebound throughout the market, defence sources …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF takes delivery of third SBIRS satellite

  1st July 2013

  The US Air Force has taken delivery of the third of four Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) satellite payloads as part of its Space Based Infrared …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman to work on GPS solution for USAF

  24th June 2013

  Northrop Grumman will continue work to improve geo-registration accuracy for positioning and pointing applications for the US Air Force under a phase two inertial navigation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show 2013: Europe questions UAV progress

  21st June 2013

  European UAV development has been slow at best in recent years, but industry is confident that indigenous designs will impact the market in the years …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Programme Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (Contracted) [Australia]

  Programme Background Three Contracted Units In June 2018, the Government provided Second Pass (Tranche 1) Approval to procure the first of six air vehicles, supporting ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (Option) [Australia]

  Programme Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Programme Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a "leap-ahead" in long-endurance, ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a turbojet loitering munition designed by Northrop Grumman in partnership with AeroVironment.  It features an open architecture that provides the capability to support ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  H-1 Family of Avionics

  Northrop Grumman produces a family of avionics for Bell H-1-series helicopters.

• R-Bat

  The Rotary Bat (R-Bat) is the rotary-wing member of the Bat family of sUAS. The R-Bat was designed with Yamaha Motor USA and has been ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - MLDS, EO/IR systems

  AN/AAQ-37 DAS

  Although not electronic warfare apparatus in the purest sense, Northrop Grumman/Raytheon’s AN/AAQ-37 optronic distributed aperture system is still tactically relevant to this mission. The AN/AAQ-37 ...

• Major networking projects

  IBCS

  The Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) is a C2 system designed to integrate current and future sensors. The system also improves ...

• Air: sonar systems

  AQS-24B

  The AQS-24B is an airborne and surface minehunting system, designed for the USN and coalition partners. On 21 September 2016, it was announced that Northrop ...

• Guided munitions

  Viper Strike

  The GBU-44/B Viper Strike is an air-launched precision guided munition (PGM) equipped with a relatively small shaped charge warhead. It has been optimised for employment ...

• ISR/special mission, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Firebird

  Manufactured by Northrop Grumman, the Firebird is a unique platform that features different cockpit configurations. This feature allows the Firebird to be configured as either an uncrewed ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  APR-39(V)

  The ARP-39(V) is an RWR system for combat helicopters, low-speed aircraft and fast attack craft. The system comprises two dual-video receivers, four spiral cavity-backed antennas, ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: UAS radar

  AN/ZPY-5 VADER

  The Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) is being developed for use with the Sky Warrior UAV to enable accurate ground moving target indication data ...

• AEW&C, Maritime patrol

  E-2 Hawkeye

  The E-2 Hawkeye AEW&C; aircraft has gone through several iterations and can be operated from land, as with Egypt and Mexico, or from a carrier, ...

• Air: aerial targets

  Chukar III

  The Chukar III, based on Northrop Grumman’s BQM-74E developed for the USN, is a high subsonic aerial jet target for export customers.

• EO/IR systems

  LITENING

  LITENING is an EO/IR pod that detects, acquires, identifies and tracks targets at extended ranges. According to Northrop Grumman, it enables various missions, including precision targeting, ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  ITAS

  Northrop Grumman is a major producer of tactical information management systems for maritime patrol, ASW, ASuW, SAR and related applications. The Northrop Grumman AN/ASN-150 and ...

• Air: aerial targets

  BQM-74F

  Building on the BQM-74E, the BQM-74F aerial target was developed by Northrop Grumman under a USN contract. Introduced in 2005, it has a new airframe ...