Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Fire Scout Completes Successful Maritime Sensors Demonstration

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 16, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has successfully completed maritime sensor demonstrations using a company-owned MQ-8B Fire Scout tactical Vertical Unmanned Aircraft System (VUAS). Fire Scout was equipped with the Telephonics' radar and FLIR Electro Optical Infrared system, and highlighted the versatility of the unmanned helicopter's modular payload architecture and its flexibility in integrating off-the-shelf payloads.

The demonstration was performed under a contract awarded in September by ABS Group, a Systems Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA) contractor for the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center. The test took take place during the week of October 19 in the Chesapeake Bay conducted from the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Md., Webster Outlying Field.

Following the maritime sensor demonstration, the Coast Guard participated in a multiple day virtual exercise at the Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Development Center in Rancho Bernardo, Calif. The exercise took place in the company's simulation Cyber Warfare Integration Node (CWIN). The simulation operated in a Coast Guard configuration and generated counter narcotics operations from the Coast Guard's National Security Cutter.

"We understand the importance of providing the best design, development and production of unmanned systems. An important part of this service is to provide the tools to define and develop new concepts of operations that illustrate how we can successfully integrate both manned and unmanned systems," said Duke Dufresne, sector vice president and general manager of the Strike and Surveillance Systems Division for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.