Author: Defence Street Editor

• Flights Featured ESM, COMINT, Detect and Avoid, AIS, and Link 16 Capabilities

SAN DIEGO, 7th June 2023. As part of a U.S. Navy contract, an MQ-9B SeaGuardian® Unmanned Aircraft System from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) supported the NORTHERN EDGE 2023 (NE23) exercise May 8-19, 2023. The training exercise, which took place in the Gulf of Alaska, was one of a series of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (IPACOM) exercises that prepares joint forces to respond to crises in the Asia Pacific region.

GA-ASI’s SeaGuardian is a maritime derivative of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian® and remains the first UAS that offers multi-domain Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting (ISR&T) and has an internal payload suite that can prosecute surface and subsurface targets in support of Fleet Operations.

During NE23, SeaGuardian provided real-time Maritime ISR&T data feeds to the various IPACOM operations centers including Pacific Fleet, Pacific Air Forces, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Exercise Control Group (JECG) and various exercise and real-world watch floors. Real-time sensor data – including Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), radar, and full-motion video – was Processed, Exploited and Disseminated (PED) by operators via Minotaur Mission System. The Minotaur system was developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. It links sensors, SIGINT, cameras, radar and communications equipment into a single, automated system that allows operators to more efficiently identify, track and target simultaneously with other users for expedited dynamic tasking. This classified data was transmitted to the Joint Fires Network using new DoD technologies allowing for the smart routing of communications between widely distributed communications nodes.

In addition, SeaGuardian showcased an array of operational payloads, including Electronic Support Measures (ESM), Radar Moving Target Indication (MTI) and Inverse Synthetic-Aperture Radar (ISAR), Communication Intelligence (COMINT), Automatic Identification System (AIS), high-definition Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) imaging system and Link 16.

The ESM payload on SeaGuardian was supplied by Sierra Nevada Corporation and the COMINT payload was made by L3Harris Technologies. The aircraft featured the SeaVue Multi-role radar from Raytheon Technologies. GA-ASI’s Link 16 solution leveraged the L3Harris Small Tactical Terminal (STT) KOR-24A radio and Ultra Electronics Air Defense Systems Integrator (ADSI) host software ran on the Parry Labs Stellar Relay Common Compute Module.

The GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid (DAA) system was also installed in SeaGuardian and received a limited certification from NAVAIR. This enabled SeaGuardian to perform beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations within the exercise airspace.

SeaGuardian’s multi-domain capabilities allows it to flex from mission to mission and pass real-time sensor data directly to the fleet through Link 16 and satellite feeds to the shore-based command and intelligence centers. During NE23, the MQ-9B effectively passed ISR&T information to various surface and air units, and a litany of other U.S. and foreign units taking part in the exercise.

In addition to its contributions to the exercise, the SeaGuardian self-deployed from GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon flight operations facility in El Mirage, Calif., to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, covering over 2,000 nautical miles in a single flight and demonstrated SeaGuardian’s unrivalled expeditionary attributes. The aircraft self-deployed back to El Mirage following the exercise. All flights were flown from a forward deployed Mission Command Element comprised of a Certified Ground Control Station and Mission Intelligence Station located Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, exercising UAS Expeditionary Concept of Operations (CONOPS) in support of Exercise objectives.

LAKE CHARLES, La., 6th June 2023. Northrop Grumman Corporation announced that the first E-6B Mercury Aircraft has been successfully delivered back to the U.S. Navy.

• Northrop Grumman successfully delivers the first E-6B Mercury Aircraft under the IMMC back to the Navy in record time.
• Northrop Grumman’s technology-infused approach to modernization completed the first modification effort in approximately one year, clearing a path to reducing the span of future modifications to six months.
• Five kits were successfully integrated onto the E-6B platform, implementing efficiencies and improving aircraft command, control and communications functions.

Experts:

Scott Pfeiffer, vice president, platform sustainment and mission readiness, Northrop Grumman: “Northrop Grumman is leveraging cutting-edge technology in modernization, supporting the Navy’s mission to provide survivable, reliable and endurable airborne command, control and communications between the National Command Authority (NCA) and U.S. strategic and nonstrategic forces for persistent mission readiness.”

Details on E-6B Integrated Modification and Maintenance:

Northrop Grumman was awarded the Integrated Modification and Maintenance Contract (IMMC) for the Navy’s E-6B Mercury platform, a derivative of the commercial Boeing 707 aircraft, in February 2022. The work was performed at Northrop Grumman’s Aircraft Maintenance and Fabrication Center in Lake Charles.

As part of the critical Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) strategic communications mission, the E-6B operates across a wide-frequency spectrum to transmit and receive secure and non-secure voice and data information. The aircraft provides survivable, reliable and endurable airborne command, control and communications in support of the President, Secretary of Defense and United States Strategic Command.

The second aircraft has already arrived in Lake Charles, and capability upgrades, integrations and tests on the aircraft are underway. Over the next several years, Northrop Grumman will continue to perform these modifications to the Navy’s E-6B aircraft, improving command, control and communications functions that connect the NCA with the United States’ nuclear triad. The company will establish a consolidated production line for core modifications required under the $111 million contract.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 95,000 employees define possible every day.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., 5th June 2023. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) system was successfully fielded in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, creating air and missile defense interoperability amongst the Baltic states, NATO and U.S. forces. FAAD C2 provides command and control for their collective short range air defense (SHORAD) systems to conduct counter unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) and SHORAD missions.

• Northrop Grumman modernized the Baltics’ air defense and C-UAS capabilities in alignment with the U.S. European Command’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense Plan.
• The company conducted FAAD C2 training with the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian armies in the Baltic region to help them integrate with modern NATO air defenses.

Expert:

Rebecca Torzone, vice president and general manager, combat systems and mission readiness, Northrop Grumman: “FAAD C2 will enable the Baltic region forces to make faster, better-informed decisions to defeat short range and enemy unmanned aerial threats. The system’s battle-proven architecture allows for future integration of additional sensors and effectors, and its interoperability with NATO’s integrated air and missile defense framework will enhance the region’s security.”

Details on FAAD C2:

FAAD C2 is a combat-proven, fielded system that receives air track data from multiple sources, including local sensors and external data links, to create a single integrated air picture. It simultaneously transmits the air picture to all effectors in the architecture and provides engagement orders and weapon control status.

Providing complete situational awareness, the system delivers both the local air picture and the status of SHORAD weapons in theater to maintain awareness amongst air defense and maneuver units. FAAD C2 can be deployed in several theaters of operation simultaneously to provide C2 for short range air defense, C-UAS and counter-rocket, artillery and mortar missions.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 95,000 employees define possible every day.