NATO unveils first AGS UAV
NATO, along with Northrop Grumman and industry partners, unveiled its first Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) UAV on 4 June.
The aircraft is a wide-area surveillance Global Hawk that will form part of a broader system of ISR solutions for use during NATO missions such as ground troop and civilian population protection, anti-terrorism, border control and maritime safety, humanitarian assistance and crisis management operations.
The high-altitude, long-endurance Global Hawk is equipped with a multi-platform radar technology insertion programme sensor. The NATO AGS system will also be capable of fusing sensor data, detecting and tracking moving targets and providing detailed imagery.
The NATO programme consists of five air vehicles and transportable, mobile and fixed ground stations. The industrial team includes Northrop Grumman as well as Kongsberg, Selex, Airbus Defence and Space and other defence companies from the 15 participating nations. All 28 nations in the NATO alliance will take part in the programme's long-term support.
Erling Wang, chairman, NATO AGS Management Organisation, said: 'This marks a significant step forward in achieving NATO's goal of acquiring NATO-owned and operated AGS core capability. What you see here today is the result of one of the commitments made at the 2012 NATO Summit – to bring this advanced and critical persistent ISR capability to the alliance to help ensure we can continue to address the range of challenges our member and other allied nations face.'
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
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
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
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
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
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
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.