• Defence Notes

  Russia beefing up its Su-25SM3 fleet

  4th April 2019

  The Russian MoD has released a tender with a selected supplier to upgrade Su-25 attack aircraft to the significantly enhanced Su-25SM3 standard for day/night operations, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Russia receives sixth upgraded A-50U

  5th April 2019

  Rostec's Vega Concern and the Beriev Aircraft Company have supplied the sixth modernised A-50U airborne early warning and control (AEW&C;) aircraft to the Russian Air …

• Special Operations

  UK MoD explores new human detection technology

  12th April 2019

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded Iceni Labs a £248,000 contract to support the evaluation of the SafeScan Tactical handheld human presence detection …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Industry unsettled on C-UAS pathways

  10th April 2019

  A number of technical and development issues encountered by commercial C-UAS manufacturers are still unresolved as the emerging market struggles to meet increasingly sophisticated customer …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  uAvionix products receive approval from India’s DGCA

  5th April 2019

  uAvionix’s products for UAS have been accepted by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India for use within Indian-controlled airspace, the company announced …

• Land Warfare

  Thai army unveils VL MICA air defence system

  28th March 2019

  At the end of last year, the Royal Thai Army’s (RTA) Air Defence Command replaced its Spada surface-to-air missiles (SAM), which had been in service …

• Digital Battlespace

  A-50U aircraft enters Russian service

  2nd April 2019

  An upgraded A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft has entered into the Russian military transport aviation in Ivanovo, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Unmanned Systems Asia 2019: Aselsan hits the ground running in Singapore

  10th April 2019

  Turkish first-time exhibitor Aselsan demonstrated its unmanned ground portfolio on the show floor at Unmanned Systems Asia 2019. On display was the company’s UKAP, a …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon developing ASARS-2B for U-2

  27th March 2019

  Raytheon is developing a new version of the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System (ASARS) for the US Air Force’s U-2 Dragon Lady surveillance aircraft, the …

• Land Warfare

  Australia to receive new air defence capability

  27th March 2019

  The Australian government has announced that it will purchase a new short-range air defence capability to protect its forces from modern airborne threats. The new …

• Land Warfare

  EOS T2000 turret competing for Land 400 IFV programme

  5th March 2019

  At the Avalon Air Show, the Australian Department of Defence launched Electro Optic Systems’ (EOS) T2000 turret for armoured vehicles. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne was …

• Military Logistics

  Leonardo, Northrop Grumman Australia sign MoU

  1st March 2019

  Leonardo and Northrop Grumman Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for C-27J through-life support services in New Zealand, Leonardo announced on 26 February. …

• Digital Battlespace

  P-8A Poseidon gets EW capability boost

  25th February 2019

  Additional infrared countermeasures and electronic warfare management systems will be integrated on all Lot 9 and Lot 10 P-8A Poseidon, following a $27,291,319 fixed-price indefinite-quantity …

• Training

  USMC conducts training at Northrop Grumman’s DTC

  18th March 2019

  Northrop Grumman’s Distributed Training Center (DTC) at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia has been used by the US Marine Corps (USMC) for the first time …

• Defence Helicopter

  Crowsnest flight test programme picks up steam

  5th April 2019

  Following ‘aero-mechanical’ first flight trials held at Leonardo’s Yeovil facility on 28 March, Lockheed Martin, prime contractor of the Crowsnest Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract Award In 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Multirole Fighter [Morocco]

  Programme Background 2019 In March 2019, the US State Department announced that it had approved a possible FMS of 25 F-16V Block 72 aircraft to ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IAR-99 Replacement (Romania)

  On 29 August 2017, Leonardo announced that the IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) will be fitted with company's Vixen 500E AESA radar. The Vixen 500E AESA ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (1-4) [Australia]

  Background Three Contracted Units In June 2018, the Government provided Second Pass (Tranche 1) Approval to procure the first of six air vehicles, supporting systems and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• AEW&C

  E-2D (France)

  Programme Background In July 2020, France revealed its intention of buying a fleet of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Aircraft with a $2 billion potential FMS deal, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a “leap-ahead” in long-endurance, VTOL-capable ...

• Data links

  Data links | E-6 TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) [USN]

  The TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) will replace the ageing E-6B Mercury and transition the US Airborne Strategic NC3 capability between aircraft. E-130J mission equipment will ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | E-6 TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) [USN]

  The TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) will replace the ageing E-6B Mercury and transition the US Airborne Strategic NC3 capability between aircraft. E-130J mission equipment will ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | E-6 TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) [USN]

  The TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) will replace the ageing E-6B Mercury and transition the US Airborne Strategic NC3 capability between aircraft. E-130J mission equipment will ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | E-6 TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) [USN]

  The TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) will replace the ageing E-6B Mercury and transition the US Airborne Strategic NC3 capability between aircraft. E-130J mission equipment will ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-81

  AN/APG-81 is operating in the X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems for the F-35 “Lightning” all-weather ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: surveillance radar

  AN/ASQ-236

  The AN/ASQ-236 (Dragon's Eye) is an AESA radar pod manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It is intended as a surveillance radar, capable of all-weather precision geo-location ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-83 SABR

  The AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar being developed by Northrop Grumman using its own ...

• Major networking projects

  IBCS

  The Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) is a C2 system designed to integrate current and future sensors. The system also improves ...

• Air: UAS radar

  AN/ZPQ-1 TESAR

  The Tactical Endurance Synthetic Aperture Radar (TESAR), developed by Northrop Grumman, is primarily designed for use on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the Predator. 

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW)

  The Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) is an air-to-ground weapon that will provide strike capability to defeat rapidly relocatable targets as part of an enemy’s anti-access/area denial ...

• Land: air defence radar

  AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR

  AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) is a multi-mission system designed to support worldwide expeditionary requirements. It provides detection and tracking capabilities and offers traffic ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  APR-39E(V)2

  The AN/APR-39E(V)2 is a digital radar warning receiver manufactured by Northrop Grumman. The receiver is a modernised version of the AN/APR-39 radar warning receiver and ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: surveillance radar, Air: UAS radar

  AN/ZPY-5 VADER

  The Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) is an airborne radar system manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It is designed to track vehicles and foot traffic ...

• Military - UUVs

  Manta Ray

  Manta Ray is an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Northrop Grumman.

• Loitering munitions

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a turbojet loitering munition designed by Northrop Grumman in partnership with AeroVironment.  It features an open architecture that provides the capability to support ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  AN/ALR-67(V)3

  The AN/ALR-67 series Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) has been produced both by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, though all production this century has been done by ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-79

  The AN/APG-79 is an agile beam radar with a solid-state digital array that scans at nearly the speed of light, enabling detection and tracking of ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  H-1 Family of Avionics

  Northrop Grumman produces a family of avionics for Bell H-1-series helicopters.