Aurora delivers BAMS composite structures
Aurora Flight Sciences has announced that it has delivered the first complete ship set of composite aerospace structures to Northrop Grumman for the MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) programme being carried out for the US Navy. The delivery marks a major step in the programme, with the first flight of the first aircraft expected to take place during 2012.
Aurora is contracted to deliver the aft fuselage, forward nacelle, mid nacelle, aft nacelle, and V-tail assemblies of the MQ-4C BAMS UAS aircraft. The structures will be shipped to Northrop Grumman for final assembly in Palmdale, California.
The MQ-4C BAMS UAS is the naval version of the US Air Force’s RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The aircraft will be used in a similar capacity by the Navy, primarily to execute intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks, and provide a persistent assessment of surface threats covering vast areas of open ocean and littoral regions to military commanders.
Aurora has worked with Northrop Grumman on Global hawk since 1995, working on all of the aircraft’s composite components except the wing and radomes.
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
![Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures]()
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
