Northrop Grumman

Lotus leaf inspires dust-busting shield for space gear

By Paul Lester

16:56 September 27, 2009 PDT

Finding inspiration from nature in order to refine and advance modern technologies is nothing new; Mercedes’ bionic car was an interesting example and we’ve also seen a new ‘smart fabric’ based on the design of pine cones. Perhaps one of the most inspiring species, certainly in the plant world, is the lotus, which has already contributed to the development of fog-free windscreens and other surfaces along with improving the efficiency of solar cells. Now NASA is looking to the Lotus Leaf to develop a non-stick surface for use on spaceflight equipment. Read More

Build a lunar lander and win $1 million

By Paul Lester

17:38 September 1, 2009 PDT

The X-Prize foundation, who teamed up with Google in 2007 to create the USD$30 million Google Lunar X Prize competition, has recorded plenty of interest. Since Odyssey Moon’s registration, a further ten parties moved swiftly to take up the gauntlet last year. Read More

P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane officially unveiled

By Gizmag Team

05:40 August 5, 2009 PDT

The U.S. Navy's new long-range maritime surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft has been officially unveiled at the Boeing facility in Renton, Washington. The P-8A Poseidon will provide anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities and offers greater payload capacity and advanced software and communications over the P-3C Orion which it is scheduled to replace from 2013. Read More

Lockheed Martin rolls-out first F-35C Lightning II Stealth Fighter

By Jeff Salton

07:47 July 30, 2009 PDT

The US Navy is a step closer to taking possession of its first-ever stealth fighter, the F-35C Lightning II. The 5th generation supersonic fighter plane was displayed at the company’s Fort Worth plant in front of top navy personnel this week and will undergo a wide-ranging series of ground tests before its first flight, scheduled for late 2009. Read More

Boeing to develop fighter-sized UAV based on X-45C

By Noel McKeegan

18:49 May 8, 2009 PDT

Boeing plans to have a new unmanned platform based on the X-45C in the air by December 2010. Dubbed Phantom Ray, the internally funded venture will build on the knowledge gained in the shelved X-45 project, which saw the X-45A unmanned aircraft complete 64 flights between 2002 and 2005, achieving a number of milestones including the first precision weapons demonstration by an unmanned combat system and the first autonomous multivehicle flight under the control of a single pilot. Phantom Ray will be based on the larger, fighter-sized, X-45C which appeared at airshows as a full-scale mock-up during 2004. Read More

Boeing P-8A Poseidon lifts-off

By Noel McKeegan

03:35 April 28, 2009 PDT

Boeing's P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine and long-range surveillance aircraft has completed its first flight. In the latest development milestone for the plane scheduled to replace the P-3 Orion, the T-1 test aircraft completed a series of systems checks during three hours and 31 minutes in the skies above Seattle on April 25. Read More

Northrop Grumman delivers compact high-energy laser to USAF

By Noel McKeegan

18:02 October 8, 2008 PDT

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

By Kyle Sherer

20:16 September 16, 2008 PDT

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

By Noel McKeegan

19:54 June 30, 2008 PDT

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

By Noel McKeegan

23:27 March 27, 2008 PDT

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

By Kyle Sherer

17:25 March 17, 2008 PDT

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

By Noel McKeegan

23:13 March 11, 2008 PDT

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

By Kyle Sherer

22:01 February 28, 2008 PST

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

By Shaun McKeegan

01:28 September 5, 2007 PDT

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

By Noel McKeegan

19:39 August 9, 2007 PDT

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

By Mike Hanlon

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. Read More