Jay Clemens
Northrop Grumman has built a ground surveillance aircraft for NATO that is intended to fulfill the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements of the alliance.
The wide area surveillance Global Hawk system features a multiplatform radar technology insertion program sensor that works to transmit operational data to commanders, Northrop said Thursday.
NATO will use the aircraft in various missions to protect ground troops and civilians, monitor borders, combat terrorist groups and perform crisis management and humanitarian assistance operations.
Northrop worked with Airbus Defense and Space, Selex ES and Kongsberg to build the aircraft.
Janis Pamiljans, sector vice president and general manager of unmanned systems at Northrop, said the European program is the result of the “trans-Atlantic relationships†Northrop forged with international partners.
“We are establishing the necessary ground stations, command and control systems, and training and logistics support services at the NATO AGS main operating base at Sigonella Air Base in Italy,” added Jim Edge, general manager of the NATO AGS Management Agency.
