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.'
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