Aerospace Diary

Posted by Neelam Mathews June 26, 2011 Northrop Grumman Corporation'sEurope-based air traffic management subsidiary, Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems, is providing Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS) for Muscat International and Salalah International airports in the Sultanate of Oman. The contract awarded by the Spanish information technology company Indra Sistemas forms part of the nationwide air traffic management modernisation and upgrade program for the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation Services in Oman and is expected to be completed in April 2015. "This was an extremely competitive tender involving several strong international companies. Winning this contract confirms our position as the leading provider of surface movement systems in the Gulf region," said Eldar Hauge, managing director of Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems in Norway.  "The collaboration with Indra will result in a world-c...

Aero India Aviation Week & Space Technology Feb 14 , 2011 , p. 39 Neelam Mathews Bengaluru Leithen Francis Bengaluru India looks to expand capabilities beyond the scope of current projects Printed headline: Seeking Surveillance As India grows its military arsenal to gain strategic reach beyond its traditional sphere of interest, the country also is looking to boost its surveillance capabilities to support operations further afield. Key decisions have already been taken to bolster airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capabilities, as well as long-range maritime patrol, but more is in the offing. Carrier-based AEW&C is now in the cards, as well as further purchases of unmanned aircraft. One program industry is keeping an eye on is for a maritime surveillance unmanned aircraft. When terrorists attacked Mumbai in 2009, they infiltrated the country via the sea. Boeing and Textron are hoping to secure a...

Aerospace Daily Feb 9, 2011 PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — Northrop Grumman says that if India purchases the company’s E-2D airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft at the same time as the U.S., it will gain a price benefit from economies of scale. India’s current requirement is for  one squadron of four AEW&C aircraft, with two more as options. It is believed the Indian navy will require 12 in the coming years. With the warming of U.S.-India relations, India is among the first countries for which the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye has been approved for export. The Indian navy made a formal request for the sale last October. “The challenge with the E-2D is we’re building small numbers,” says Tom Trudell, Northrop’s E-2D manager for international business development. “This is a low-rate production/ niche program.” The Indian navy is still awaiting a response from the U.S. on a request to add further capability to the export version of the E-2D. U.S. Defense Secretary...

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Main lead-front page July 16, 2010 PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — India is planning to issue a letter of request to the U.S. government for a U.S. foreign military sale (FMS) of Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff unmanned aerial system (VTUAS). The Indian government is expected to send a request via the U.S. Embassy for FMS clearance, as “the technology is not for release,” an Indian navy official says. Northrop has made presentations on the system over the past few years to the Indian navy and army. With homegrown insurgency a big concern in India, interest has emerged for the Airborne Standoff Minefield Detection System (Astamids), which has been demonstrated on Fire Scout. “The insurgents lay mines to be remotely triggered four inches below the roads in the Eastern states of India,”an army official says. “The algorithms to locate IEDs [improvised explosive devices] through processing Astamids imagery will prove a boon to the ...