Northrop Grumman details Tern progress
Northrop Grumman has cleared two milestones for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) programme, the company announced on 28 November.
The company is working on phase 3 of the programme that aims to develop a highly autonomous medium altitude, long endurance UAS capable of operating from small deck US Navy and Marine Corps vessels to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), targeting and strike missions.
The team completed a critical design review (CDR) of the air vehicle’s General Electric engine in October. The review approved an engine configuration that will allow Tern, with a unique tail-sitter design, to fly both vertically and horizontally.
A successful CDR of Tern’s vehicle management system has also now been completed. The review produced an approval of the hardware and software architecture that will allow the air vehicle to launch and recover vertically from small-deck ships and transition to horizontal flight.
Bob August, program manager, Tern, Northrop Grumman, said: ‘Tern’s unique combination of speed, long endurance, range, and altitude would give the navy and marine corps a cost-effective, transformational capability to conduct ISR, light strike, and other missions from the sea at ranges exceeding 600 nautical miles.
‘These successful milestones add confidence to our plan to demonstrate this new vehicle capability in 2018.’
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
Reamda upgrades Grasshopper UGV observation mast
Reamda, an Irish engineering company with a focus on UGVs and defence applications, delivered its Riddler platformed to the Irish Defence Forces last year.
-
Roke unveils new CUAS solution
The Roke Agile CUAS has been designed to provide protection for military and civilian situations, as well as to handle swarms of UAS by using a range of sensors.
-
Russia reaches new monthly record for Lancet use in Ukraine
The aggressor’s armed forces have adapted Lancet to Ukrainian conditions via iterative developments accompanied by a significant expansion in production capacity
-
India’s pursuit of UAVs fuels domestic innovation and industrial growth
In response to escalating border tensions and the need for enhanced surveillance capabilities, the Indian Army is ramping up its drone acquisitions, reflecting the growing importance of unmanned systems in modern defence strategies.
-
Australia to adopt new predatory OWL species
The Australian Defence Force will introduce the One-Way Loitering (OWL) platform by Innovaero, the country’s first long-range loitering munition, to enhance strike capabilities and understanding of loitering munitions.
-
Dedrone’s latest uncrewed solutions offers “complete CUAS DTI-M kill chain”
DedroneOnTheMove, which integrates advanced sensor-fusion and mitigation technologies, was showcased at Eurosatory 2024 and has been designed for deployment to enhance airspace security in high-risk environments.