EW MARKET LOOKS TO GROW, LED BY NEW TECHNOLOGIES
By Julian Nettlefold
The Paris Air Show was quietly alive with new developments in EW Technologies, led by a number of announcements by Northrop Grumman regarding the F-35 sensor suite.
As the Wall Street Journal said recently, ‘Northrop has staked out a sweet spot in which its warships, highly classified cyberwarfare technologies and the Global Hawk unmanned spy plane will play frontline roles in years to come as Defense Secretary Robert Gates upends
Pentagon spending, company executives say.’
“I think Northrop came out pretty well,” Chairman and Chief Executive Ronald Sugar says. “We’ve spent the last five or 10 years positioning the company for this eventuality.”
How Mr. Sugar and his rivals at Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. view the shake-up will become more clear in coming weeks as they discuss their outlooks after reporting earnings. While not a direct comparison because the companies structure their operations differently, bragging rights are important to Northrop. Mr. Sugar occasionally refers to Northrop as ‘the Rodney Dangerfield’ of defense contractors, in part because its focus on information systems and electronics give Northrop a lower profile than Boeing enjoys thanks to that company’s warplanes.
The announcement in Defense News about a preference for the Boeing F/A-18 Growler over more F-22s underlines this.
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says it is important for operational reasons to keep the F-18 production line running. Cartwright told the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 9 that he was one of the ‘most vocal and ardent supporters’ of ending the Raptor program at 187. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the decision, along with about 50 other program cuts, in early April.
Cartwright, appearing before the panel for a confirmation hearing as part of his nomination for a second stint as vice chairman, said the Joint Staff and Air Force had just concluded a study on sizing the F-22 fleet. He said the study concluded it was more important to focus on fielding fighters for all three services “because of how we deploy.” It ultimately endorsed ending the F-22 program at 187 jets and fielding more F-35s and both models of the F-18 fighter.
Cartwright said the latter jet’s Growler model, designed for electronic warfare tasks, became a key part of the decision to halt the F-22 program. That’s because the military’s war fighting commanders, in conversations with Cartwright, all expressed a desire for more aerial EW capability. And right now, that means more Growlers.
Cartwright said Pentagon brass have three priorities for tactical aircraft: field fifth-generation fighters; “keep a hot production line”; and keep open the F-18 production line, largely to maintain the flow of new Growlers.
Northrop JSF Sensor Suite
A figure which Northrop does not routinely bandy about is that its share of the JSF Project; we understand that it is a significant percentage of the overall contract value. Northrop gave an overview to the F-35 sensor suite at Paris given by Mark Gaertner, director of Business Development, Aerospace Systems Division, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems at the Paris Air Show.
Northrop Grumman plays a critical role in the development and demonstration of the F-35. Responsibilities range from integrating a major section of the aircraft’s structure to producing key avionics and communications subsystems, to developing mission-planning software and training systems.
Designated the AN/AAQ-37, the DAS allows the highly manoeuvrable F-35 to exit the fight quickly and safely. DAS comprises six digitally-fused, electro-optical sensors. The full DAS will enhance the F-35’s survivability and operational effectiveness by warning the pilot of incoming aircraft and missile threats, providing day/night vision and supporting the navigation function of the F-35’s