Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman delivers compact high-energy laser to USAF
Northrop Grumman has delivered the first production-line high-power, solid-state laser to the US Air Force. Called Vesta II, the transportable 15kW device is an add-on to the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program and will be used as a "testing device for lethality, atmospheric propagation, long-range imaging and laser weapon applications". The push-button laser is a further step towards the 100kW power level goal set by the U.S. military for combat purposes which will see weapons capable of shooting down rockets and missiles. Read More
Northrop Grumman to build first new aircraft carrier class in 40 years
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The Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 is the first ship in the first new aircraft carrier class in over 40 years and Northrop Grumman has received a $5.1 billion, seven-year contract for its construction, which is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2015. Read More
Boeing announces B-52 airborne electronic attack contract
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July 1, 2008 Boeing has been awarded a $14.9 million contract by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop airborne electronic attack technologies that can be used over long distances. Read More
Global Hawk UAV achieves record 33-hour flight
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March 28, 2008 Northrop Grumman Corporation's RQ-4 Global Hawk has successfully completed a flight lasting 33.1 hours at altitudes up to 60,000. While the milestone does not match the 54 hour flight achieved by QinetiQ’s Zephyr in 2007, it is a record for a full-scale, operational unmanned aircraft - and there was still fuel left in the tank. Read More
Demonstration milestone for Solid State Laser program
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March 18, 2008 Military laser systems are approaching battlefield readiness with Northrop Grumman having successfully demonstrated the performance of a laser chain, a key component of the Joint High-Powered Solid State Laser. Read More
Green light for Northrop Grumman Airborne Laser Mine Detection System
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March 12, 2008 A Northrop Grumman system designed to protect ships by using lasers to detect mines in the ocean has been given the go-ahead by the U.S. Navy for low-rate initial production. The US$25 million will see three Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) produced with expectations that 25 units will be manufactured over the next five years. Read More
Laser modules installed on Airborne Laser prototype aircraft
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February 29, 2008 In another milestone for the US Missile Defense Agency’s Airborne Laser project, the six laser modules that comprise the core of the system have been successfully installed by Northrop Grumman. Read More
Airborne Laser project achieves development milestones
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September 5, 2007 Successful testing of an aircraft mounted laser weapon system has been carried out by the US missile defense agency and industry partnership team at Edwards Air Force base in California. The Airborne Laser (ABL) team has demonstrated the ability to point and focus the Lockheed Martin developed Beam control/Fire control system on an airborne target. Read More
Northrop Grumman adds “Sense-and-Avoid” tech to Navy UAVs
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August 10, 2007 Northrop Grumman has announced that it will equip its unmanned aircraft with technology that makes it safer to share airspace with piloted aircraft. Known as “Sense-and-Avoid”, these systems have been in development for more than five years. Read More
Removable Laser Countermeasure System successfully thwarts heat-seeking missiles
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June 19, 2007 We’ve all seen the scenario many times in films – a heat-seeking missile is launched towards a helicopter and relentlessly pursues its prey to destruction. Now it appears that there’s a removable laser Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) System which can defeat such threats. The system was tested for the first time recently and successfully thwarted a series of simulated heat-seeking missile attacks on a Dutch AH-64D Apache helicopter during flight trials at Vliehors Test Range in the Netherlands. The small pod containing Northrop Grumman's laser Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) system mounts to the end of the stub-wing on the Apache AH-64D attack helicopter. The system functions by automatically detecting a missile launch, determining if it is a threat and activating a high-intensity laser-based countermeasure system to track and defeat the missile.
