NORTHROP GRUMMAN ADDS SIKSORSKY TO UCAR TEAM – FORMS NEW DIVISION
07 Oct 03. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE:NOC – News) Integrated Systems sector announced during AUSA that Sikorsky Aircraft, a world leader in the design, development, production and support of advanced technology military rotorcraft systems, has joined the Northrop Grumman-led Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) team.
The Northrop Grumman UCAR team is currently competing for the opportunity to develop the jointly sponsored U.S. Army/Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency UCAR system under an $8.7 million Phase II contract awarded to Northrop Grumman in July.
“We’re delighted to add Sikorsky to the list of talented companies that make up the Northrop Grumman UCAR team,” said Martin E. Dandridge, executive vice president of Integrated Systems and general manager of the sector’s Unmanned Systems unit in San Diego. “They bring world-class expertise in producing and supporting advanced technology military rotorcraft systems. Sikorsky also will help us refine the UCAR system cost and capability to give the Army the optimum war fighting system.”
The Northrop Grumman UCAR team includes three other company sectors: Electronic Systems, Baltimore; Mission Systems, Reston, Va.; and Information Technology, Herndon, Va. Other key members of the team include Kaman Aerospace Corporation, L-3 Communications, and BAE SYSTEMS. Several nontraditional suppliers — Natural Selection, Inc.; The Saber Group LLC; and Aero Sciences Technology Associates LLC — also fortify the team with their innovative technologies and unique experience.
Located in Stratford and Bridgeport, Conn., Sikorsky Aircraft has production facilities, structural test labs, whirl towers, software integration labs, a radar cross section measurement range, and other facilities that will be used during the design and development phases of the UCAR program. The company also will leverage its considerable experience from the RAH-Comanche development program to support the UCAR effort.
UCAR is an eight-year, four-phase program to produce and demonstrate an affordable unmanned system that can identify and prosecute concealed ground targets in close combat situations without putting a pilot in harm’s way. The system will operate seamlessly with other components in the Army’s system-of-systems objective force construct while performing a broad range of “dull, dirty or dangerous” missions. Phase II of the UCAR program will last for approximately 15 months, culminating with a preliminary design review of the demonstrator system.
On October 8th, Northrop announced that its Advanced Tactical C4I (ATC4I) organization, which produces the U.S. Army’s RQ-5 Hunter UAV, will become a part of the company’s Unmanned Systems unit in San Diego. ATC4I is currently part of Northrop Grumman’s Mission Systems sector. Unmanned Systems is part of the Integrated Systems sector. The realignment leverages UAV technologies acquired from the heritage TRW organization (ATC4I) in 2002 and Ryan Aeronautical (Unmanned Systems) in 1999, while sharing robust UAV development processes and systems know-how more cost effectively among all programs. It also creates a standalone organization dedicated to developing affordable, optimized UAV for each customer. The consolidation takes effect Jan. 1, 2004.
Comment: Northrop has created a unique ‘one-stop shop’ for UAV requirements in sensors and platforms. The announcement that the Hunter ATC4I segment will be rolled into the Mission Systems segment gives capability across the board.
THERE WILL BE A UCAR FEATURE IN OUR OCT/NOV WEB ISSUE