Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk Prepares for Navy Demo

Sea Power, Nov 2004 by Burgess, Richard R

The first RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built for the Navy has begun a flight test program to prepare it for the Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration Program. The UAV, built by Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems, will be delivered to the Navy in May 2005.

The Navy RQ-4A, designated N-1, made its first flight on Oct. 6 from Palmdale, Calif., to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. N-1 is the first of two RQ4As being built for the demonstration, scheduled to begin in June. The second, N-2, is scheduled to begin flying in early 2005.

The Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration is designed to demonstrate the value of a long-range UAV for maritime surveillance, and develop tactics and operational procedures for maritime UAVs. The Global Hawks will be used to develop new technologies, support fleet experiments and provide a deployable surveillance capability in the event of contingencies.

The Navy RQ-4As will feature sensors such as radar with maritime surveillance modes for identifying ships at sea, as well as surveillance measures for detecting and locating hostile emitters. The ground stations also will feature displays and controls for internally analyzing sensor information.

"For the first time, the Navy will have an unmanned system that can support the fleet from nearly anywhere it operates," said Capt. Dennis Sorenson, the Navy's UAV program manager. "The lessons learned from this program will benchmark future intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance practices for the maritime environment."

The Navy will conduct the maritime demonstration from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., but deploy the Global Hawks from various locations.

Northrop Grumman has delivered 10 RQ-4As to the Air Force, which has used them successfully for surveillance of Afghanistan and Iraq.

An upgrade of the RQ-4A, the RQ-4B is a contender for the Navy's Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program to augment the Multimission Maritime Aircraft, the replacement for the Navy's P-3C patrol aircraft. The RQ-4B, which will feature more capable sensors, will compete for the BAMS selection with the Lockheed Martin/General Atomics Mariner UAV, a development of the Predator UAV.

Arleigh Burke Destroyers Christened, Commissioned

The Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer - built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems - was commissioned a few days before the company christened a sister ship.

USS Chung-Hoon joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet during Sept. 18 ceremonies at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, welcomed by fleet commander Adm. Walter F. Doran. The 43rd Arleigh Burke-class ship - the 20th built by Northrop Grumman - is named for Adm. Gordon Paiea Chung-Hoon, who commanded the destroyer USS Sigsbee during the Okinawa campaign in 1945. Chung-Hoon was awarded the Navy Cross for leading his crew in downing 20 Japanese aircraft and saving the ship after a hit from a kamikaze aircraft.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, was the keynote speaker at the commissioning ceremonies during which the ship's sponsor, Michelle Punana Chung-Hoon, niece of the ship's namesake, ordered the crew to "man our ship and bring her to life." Cmdr. Kenneth L. Williams is the first commanding officer of the Chung-Hoon.

More than 1,000 guests attended the Oct. 2 christening ceremonies for the 48th Arleigh Burke destroyer - the 23rd built at the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems facility in Pascagoula, Miss. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., was the keynote speaker at the ceremonies. The ship's sponsor, Anne Patrick Sherman, christened Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) for her deceased father, Adm. Forrest P. Sherman.

Adm. Sherman was the youngest man to serve as chief of naval operations, assuming command in 1949. A naval aviator, he served in World War II as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp and as a staff officer for Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He was instrumental in planning many of the successful campaigns of the Pacific war.

Defense Industry Notes

* Lockheed Martin has been selected by the Navy to build the Mobile User Objective System (MOUS) under a $2.1 billion contract awarded Sept. 24. The MOUS is a next-generation narrow-band tactical communications satellite designed to replace the Navy's current Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On satellite system. The MOUS is designed to provide simultaneous voice, data and video in real time. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, together with teammates General Dynamics C4 Systems and Boeing Satellite Systems, will build the first two MOUS systems under the contract and launch the first satellite in 2010.

* EADS North America has restructured its defense business by forming EADS North America Defense Co., based in Arlington, Va. The move will allow EADS to compete directly for U.S. defense business because the new unit will operate under a special security agreement regulating security and export control procedures.

* Oshkosh Truck Corp. has been awarded an estimated $204 million contract from the Marine Corps Systems Command to build 920 armor kits for installation on the service's Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement, the main truck used by the Corps in Iraq. Most of the work will be performed by the Plasan Sasa company in Israel.