DARPA contract to push the bleeding edge on unmanned
air vehicle combat operations
Northrop Grumman
Corporation has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to continue work on the X-47B
portion of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS)
demonstration program. Valued at up to $1.04 billion over five
years for the program's operational assessment phase, the award
includes initial funding of $30 million.
The J-UCAS program is an effort by DARPA, the U.S. Air Force and
U.S. Navy to demonstrate the technical feasibility, military
utility and operational value of networked, unmanned, air-combat
systems to suppress enemy air defenses, perform electronic attack,
conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and
perform precision strike attacks.
In this phase, Northrop
Grumman will produce and flight-test three X-47B unmanned
demonstration vehicles with associated mission-control stations and
logistical support elements. Flight demonstrations are expected to
begin in 2007.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector leads a J-UCAS team
that includes Lockheed Martin Corp., and Pratt & Whitney. Work
will be performed at facilities in El Segundo, Palmdale and San
Diego, Calif., and East Hartford, Conn.
"Our J-UCAS effort builds upon Northrop Grumman's longstanding
experience in developing successful unmanned combat air systems by
applying expertise from across the company and the rest of our
industry," said Christopher M. Hernandez, vice president and
general manager of Unmanned Systems, a unit of the Integrated
Systems sector. "Northrop Grumman's leadership in unmanned systems
includes combat-proven assets such as the Air Force's RQ-4 Global
Hawk and the Army's RQ-5 Hunter. Both systems are in service
supporting the global war on terrorism." The three objectives of
the J-UCAS operational assessment program are to demonstrate the
technical feasibility of developing a family of network-centric
J-UCAS systems -- managed by a common operating system -- for
operation from land or an aircraft carrier; to assess the joint
operational utility of the J-UCAS concept in the mission areas of
suppressing enemy air defenses, strike, electronic attack and
penetrating surveillance and reconnaissance; and to develop
production system concepts for the Navy and Air Force.
"Consistent with DARPA's objective of fielding demonstrators
with warfighting potential, the X-47B promises to be a highly
capable air warfare system, well suited to support the full
spectrum of military operations," said Scott Winship, Northrop
Grumman's J-UCAS program director. "It will be very stealthy and
thus highly survivable. It will carry a wide variety of sensors
with a large internal weapons payload and be fully networked into
the military's emerging joint operational architecture. Aerial
refueling will allow it to provide persistent coverage deep into
the battlespace from long distances."
The J-UCAS common operating system, flexible architecture and
modular air vehicle design will allow the X-47B to support emerging
joint missions.
"These X-47B demonstrators are the first step toward a new,
transformational era of combat aviation where we can quickly and
affordably adapt an airframe design to a particular mission,
wrapped around a common core architecture," Winship said.