Tag: Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman’s Resupply Capsule Departs ISS

Aviation Week reported that Northrop Grumman’s 18th “NASA-contracted resupply mission capsule departed the seven-person International Space Station (ISS) early April 21, filled with trash on a trajectory for a destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean later in the day.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)

Test Pilots Say B-21’s Odd Windows Not a Problem

Air Force Times reported, “The test pilots who will be the first to fly the B-21 Raider, the Air Force’s next stealth bomber, are now working with Air Force and Northrop Grumman officials to draw up a game plan for its first flights next year.” However, “one thing that’s not weighing on their minds, the pilots stressed to reporters before the bomber’s Dec. 2 rollout at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California: The shape of the B-21′s windows and the field of view they will allow pilots.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)

Pratt & Whitney’s Engine Powers New B-21

Connecticut Post reports that the B-21 “is the Air Force’s first new bomber since the 1989 debut of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, with both using a ‘flying wing’ design to reduce the odds of showing up on radar, which uses four engines from GE Aviation.” The Air Force “has yet to specify how many engines will power the B-21.” Military trade publications “have cited analyst speculation that the B-21 engine may be a variant of the F135 engine Pratt & Whitney makes for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet.” Pratt & Whitney recently “completed its 1,000th engine under the F135 program.” Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said, “The F135 … is the safest, most capable and best-value, military jet engine in operation. We’re working on the F135 engine core upgrade. … This will allow the F135 to provide even more thrust, range and electrification to the aircraft.”
Full Story (Connecticut Post)

B-21 Bomber to Debut

Reuters reports that Northrop Grumman “is set to roll out the first plane in a new fleet of long-range stealth nuclear bombers for the United States Air Force at a ceremony in Palmdale, California[,] on Friday.” Similar in shape to the B-2, a “flying wing” design already “in the Air Force’s inventory, the B-21 ‘Raider’ will also be able to deliver nuclear weapons around the world because of long-range and mid-air refueling capabilities.” Each B-21, which can “deliver both conventional and nuclear bombs, was projected to cost approximately $550 million each in 2010 dollars, or about $750 million in today’s inflation-adjusted dollars.” The Air Force “planned to buy at least 100 of the planes and…replace B-1 and B-2 bombers.” Northrop beat out a team composed of The Boeing Company “and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) when it won the 2015 contract to make the bomber alongside suppliers including engine maker Pratt & Whitney (RTX.N), Collins Aerospace, GKN Aerospace, BAE Systems (BAES.L) and Spirit Aerosystems (SPR.N).”
Learn More (Reuters)

US Navy Tests MQ-8C Fire Scout for Maritime Expeditionary Operation Support

ExecutiveGov reported that the US Navy “tested the possibility of deploying a Northrop Grumman-built autonomous helicopter from a ship to land to support maritime expeditionary operations at a recent joint service training.” A MQ-8C Fire Scout remote helicopter “took part in the demonstration of the Navy’s Expeditionary Advance Base Operations concept during the Resolute Hunter exercise.”
Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

Boom Supersonic, Northrop Grumman to Build High-Speed Emergency Response Military Aircraft

SPACE reports that Boom Supersonic and Northrop Grumman announced Tuesday a collaboration to develop “variants of Boom’s supersonic ‘Overture’ aircraft for military and emergency response.” Boom “emphasized its so-far unproven fleet will be able to support vital missions at high speed, bringing passengers and equipment to critical locations faster than the speed of sound.”
Full Story (SPACE)

USN Tests SMAMD System on MQ-8C

Seapower Magazine reported that the US Navy recently had a successful demonstration of an MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS carrying the “Single-system Multi-mission Airborne Mine Detection (SMAMD) System.” The tests included “drifting, tethered and moored mines throughout beach zone to deep waters,” both night and day, in various water depths, and during various weather conditions. The SMAMD System, developed by BAE Systems for the Office of Naval Research, can perform detections in a single pass, with “low false alarm rate,” and sends “real-time detection sent via data link” which enables rapid response.
Full Story (Seapower Magazine)

Cygnus Boosts ISS Orbit, Departs for Earth after Booster Test

SPACE reports that the Northrop Grumman NG-17 Cygnus “spacecraft successfully reboosted the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time, raising the orbiting lab to its normal operating altitude of around 250 miles above Earth.” The reboost “took place on Saturday (June 25) and marks the first time a Cygnus spacecraft has performed a full reboost procedure.” Cygnus “fired its gimbaled engine in order to raise the space station’s altitude by a tenth of a mile (0.16 kilometers) at apogee and a half a mile (0.8 km) at perigee.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Northrop Grumman-Built Fire Scout Deployed Aboard USS Jackson

ExecutiveGov reports that the US Navy “has deployed a Northrop Grumman-built Fire Scout autonomous helicopter aboard an Independence-class littoral combat ship to support maritime intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting missions in the Indo-Pacific area.” The MQ-8C Fire Scout “on USS Jackson marks the unmanned aircraft system’s first operational deployment to the region.”
Full Story (ExecutiveGov)