20 Mar 14. Lockheed Martin and Politechnika Warszawska (WarsawPolytechnic) will jointly conduct an advanced applied research program in the field of integration between manned and unmanned airborne platform systems. The program adds to Lockheed Martin’s already strong industrial and academic partnerships in Poland to motivate young Polish engineers to address tomorrow’s defense and industrial needs. The program, principally staffed by university research students, focuses upon advancing development, optimization of multiple systems within aircraft and ground station networks, and enhancing capabilities. This joint effort cultivates recent advancements in aircraft technologies that automate flight planning and coordinate search, locate, and track missions across a variety of manned and unmanned aerial platforms. Lockheed Martin will assist in the enhanced development of Warsaw Polytechnic’s unmanned airborne platform assets and simulation systems to support university software development.
“The project of enhancing technical capabilities in the field of modelling a force structure and optimization of a network of systems, implemented by a team of students from Warsaw Polytechnic, is an excellent example of a research collaboration and technology transfer between Lockheed Martin and a higher education institution in Poland,” said Professor Janusz Narkiewicz, the leader and scientific manager of the project from Warsaw Polytechnic. “Our mission is to develop practical solutions that will apply in the management of Polish defense capabilities and significantly affect the development and future of science in Poland.”
Lockheed Martin is committed to investing in Poland’s engineers of tomorrow, who will soon make great impacts upon the country’s rising technical industrial base to meet emerging commercial and military requirements. Lockheed Martin is a world leader in aerospace technology and produces aircraft that form the foundations for nations around the world, such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, C-130 Hercules and the F-35 Lightning II.
19 Mar 14. Northrop Grumman Corporation delivered a Global Hawk Block 40 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to the U.S. Air Force at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., ahead of schedule, Feb. 14. This is the second aircraft delivered as part of Global Hawk’s Lot 10 contract, joining a Block 30 system delivered four months early in November of last year. Two additional aircraft, a final Block 30 and Block 40, will arrive later this year, completing Global Hawk’s Lot 10 contract.
“Global Hawk program performance excellence is a core focus of our efforts. Delivering Global Hawk to our Air Force partners early is a good indicator of our solid performance,” said Mick Jaggers, director, Global Hawk, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. “We look forward to continuing the reduction of Global Hawk’s total mission costs while providing unparalleled capabilities.”
A total of 42 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft are currently in use around the world with 32 in the Air Force inventory. A contract for three more aircraft (Lot 11) is expected this summer. These additional aircraft will support increased operational flight hours without adding to the fixed support costs. As our fixed support costs remain constant and flying hours increase, Global Hawk’s cost per flight hour will continue to decrease. The operationally proven Global Hawk program has exceeded 109,000 flight hours; and the cost per flight hour has declined significantly as the system has matured. The Air Force reports that the total cost per flight hour was $23,800 in fiscal year 2013, a decrease of almost 30 percent since 2012. The Global Hawk performs vital intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Global Hawk Block 40 is equipped with a multiplatform radar technology insertion program (MP-RTIP) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar with air-to-surface capability that provides wide-area surveillance of stationary and moving targe