UAE: Northrop Grumman to Showcase Its Defence Products at IDEX

Northrop Grumman Corporation will highlight a wide range of defence and security solutions, including cyber-protected C4I solutions, airborne early warning and control systems, aerial surveillance, fire control radars and marine navigation systems at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

IDEX 2013 is the only tri-service defence and security exhibition in the Middle East and North Africa region and will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre Feb. 17-21. Northrop Grumman’s exhibit in the U.S. pavilion will be at Stand 03-C08 and CS-1.

“Northrop Grumman’s strong relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries goes back many decades and is built on a legacy of trust and performance,” said David Perry, corporate vice president and chief global business development officer, Northrop Grumman. “Our objective is to continue to work closely with our customers to provide long-term capability solutions and help enhance defence and national security across the region.”

Northrop Grumman will showcase the world-leading airborne early warning capabilities of its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with a crew workstation and flyable cockpit simulator in the exhibit stand to demonstrate the E-2D’s benefits for military and civil applications.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye couples a newly designed electronically scanned radar with a matching suite of sensors, avionics, processors, software and displays to provide the most technologically advanced command and control capability available worldwide. The AN/APY-9 radar is the backbone of this aircraft and provides greater flexibility and significantly improved detection and tracking over all terrains. Northrop Grumman has delivered nine E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft to the U.S. Navy and initial operational capability with the U.S. Navy fleet is on track for 2015. The programme was recently approved to enter full-rate production by the Office of the Secretary of Defense after the E-2D was declared operationally suitable and effective following a 10-month initial operational test and evaluation by the Navy.

The exhibit will also feature a range of Northrop Grumman’s industry-leading radar-related technology. The AN/APR-39 radar warning receiver protects a wide variety of fixed-, rotary- and tilt-wing aircraft from threats, and is designed to maximize survivability by improving aircrew situational awareness. The system provides continuous 360-degree coverage to detect and identify threat types, bearing and lethality before alerting a cockpit crew to each threat with a graphical symbol on the cockpit multifunction display or video display.

The company is the world’s sole provider of fire control radars for fifth-generation fighters and supplies the active electronically scanned array fire control radars for the F-22 and F-35 and the fire control radar for the F-16 Block 60. The exhibit will feature the APG-80 Scalable Agile Beam Radar for the F-16 and the APG-81 for the F-35.

A model of the AN/TPS-78 latest generation radar, made possible by technological advances in high power transistor design, will be featured in the exhibit.

The company’s airborne surveillance capability will also be highlighted with a model of the lighter-than-air Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) being developed for the U.S. Army. The system is designed to be operated with or without a crew on board, and offers persistent surveillance with reconfigurable payloads to meet multimission needs. The first flight of the LEMV was successfully completed in August 2012.

A range of C2/C3/C4I solutions will be highlighted including the International Track Server, International Command and Control Enterprise and the SoldierLink System, a lightweight communications and information system for dismounted soldiers. A Real Time Information in the Cockpit system will be available for viewing.

The company’s naval and maritime capabilities will be highlighted in NAVDEX, the dedicated naval defence area at IDEX. This will include Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine’s latest generation of navigation, ship control and radar technology.

The VisionMaster FT and warship electronic chart display and information system will be on display configured to demonstrate how the system is able to provide effective operational support for watch keeping and command teams on smaller vessels. VisionMaster FT provides a highly integrated fully networked suite of marine radar and electronic charting systems designed to form the backbone of the modern ship’s integrated bridge.

Also on display is Northrop Grumman’s new MK39 Mod 4 ring laser gyro inertial navigation system for naval vessels, the AQS-24A mine hunting sonar system and the company’s unmanned surface vehicle technology. Airborne mine countermeasures programmes will be highlighted with a display of the AN/AES-1 airborne laser mine detection system designed to detect, classify and localize floating and near-surface moored sea mines.

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Naval Today Staff, February 14, 2013; Image: NGC