Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) received a $302 million contract from the U.S. Air Force on November 1, 2019 for continued support of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS).
The 2020 contract executes the Total System Support Responsibility (TSSR) program for the E-8C Joint STARS fleet with Northrop Grumman as the prime systems integrator of all nine components of support and sustainment.
“The capacity and technology of the Joint STARS weapon system make it unique in the multi-domain command and control arena. Northrop Grumman has delivered innovative capability to this aircraft system for more than 30 years to give the Joint Force a strategic,” said Janice Zilch, Vice President, Manned Airborne Surveillance Programs, Northrop Grumman.
Joint STARS delivers real-time battle management situational awareness and wide area search essential to the warfighter through continued investment and development in its mission systems hardware and software. Joint STARS combines high fidelity wide-area moving target detection, synthetic aperture radar imagery and robust battle management systems to locate, classify and track surface targets in all weather conditions from standoff distances. The E-8C Joint STARS fleet has flown more than 150,000 hours in support of combatant commands around the globe.
Northrop Grumman also announced it has been awarded a contract to develop and demonstrate a Software Programmable Open Mission Systems (OMS) Compliant (SPOC) radio terminal for the U.S. Air Force.
Northrop Grumman’s SPOC solution will provide the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center with an air-to-ground and air-to-air communications capability across four radio frequency waveforms: Link-16 CMN-4, Common Data Link (CDL), Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) and Multi User Objective System (MUOS). This development defines the Air Force’s next generation radio approach.
“Our solution for SPOC provides a mature hardware and software development kit that allows the Air Force to rapidly develop and prototype innovative communications solutions from any provider on an open architecture networking terminal that can be quickly taken into flight test and production,” said Roshan Roeder, Vice President, Communications, Airborne Sensors and Networks Division, Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman’s SPOC open architecture networking terminal offers numerous benefits to the Air Force customer, including opening the F-35 communications, navigation and identification (CNI) system to third-party developers, ownership of Link 16 development, sharing of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information over a common data link, and Mobile User Objective System beyond line of sight capability.
Lastly, the U.S. Air Force has completed installation of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s AN/APG-83 SABR radars on Air National Guard F-16s at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, to meet a U.S. Northern Command Joint Emergent Operational Need (JEON) for homeland defense. This milestone event completes delivery and installation of AN/APG-83 SABR Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars in support of the USAF’s future initial operational capability declaration.
The radar upgrade of select Air National Guard F-16s extends the operational viability and reliability of that fleet while providing pilots with 5th-generation fighter radar capabilities to defend our nation’s airspace.
The greater bandwidth, speed and agility of the APG-83 enables the F-16 to detect, track and identify a greater number of targets faster and at longer ranges. In addition, it features all-weather, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping to present the pilot with a large surface image for more precise target identification and strike compared to legacy systems.
The SABR program draws components from a mature industry supply base. More than 200 SABR systems have been built at Northrop Grumman’s radar assembly facility in Baltimore for U.S. and international customers.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide.
