October 18, 2021 | International, Aerospace
November 21, 2019 | International, Aerospace
NATO to upgrade its AWACS surveillance aircraft for $1 billion
By: Sebastian Sprenger
COLOGNE, Germany — NATO officials plan to spend $1 billion on upgrades to the alliance's fleet of AWACS reconnaissance planes, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“I can confirm we will sign a contract upgrading, modernizing the AWACS fleet — $1 billion,” Stoltenberg was quoted as telling reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday.
The news comes coupled with an announcement that the first of five Global Hawk drones making up the Alliance Ground Surveillance program was en route from the United States to its future home base at Sigonella, Sicily.
“This reflects how NATO is investing in high-tech capabilities,” NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu wrote on Twitter.
The Boeing-made AWACS planes, introduced in 1982, are slated to remain in service until 2035. Their job is to detect enemy missiles and aircraft threatening NATO airspace. Alliance pilots have flown the aircraft to support missions against the Islamic State group and to secure the eastern flank in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
NATO's website bills the AWACS enterprise as the “largest collaborative venture” and one of the few military assets owned and operated by the alliance.
The fleet of AGS drones is based on the Northrop Grumman-made Block 40 Global Hawk of the U.S. Air Force. The primary job of the UAVs will be ground and maritime surveillance for commanders and deployed forces.
The two announcements come as the alliance is in dire need of signs of life after French President Emmanuel Macron famously declared NATO “brain dead” in an interview with the Economist magazine some weeks ago. While experts are still debating whether the vivid assessment was constructive in nature or rather an unnecessary dig at an alliance already weakened by trans-Atlantic squabbling, there are signs that key European nations like Germany and France have plans to reanimate the pact.
German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday referred to the alliance as Europe's “life insurance,” proposing a reform commission headed by Stoltenberg.
NATO members' heads of state are slated to convene in London in early December. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the summit, determining in large part whether the alliance will be able to celebrate a revival or witness something of a funeral.
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January 13, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Northrop will provide F-16 electronic warfare system
Mark Pomerleau WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman announced an Air Force award to complete a project for the electronic warfare suite for the F-16 fighter jet. The goal of the prototyping is to protect pilots from increasing radio frequency-guided weapons by detecting, identifying and defeating them, a Jan. 11 announcement from Northrop said. A company did not provide a dollar amount for the award, granted under the Pentagon's other transaction authority. Initially selected in 2019 to prototype a design, Northrop was asked to design an internally mounted electronic warfare suite and digital radar warning receiver for F-16s, Ryan Tintner, vice president, navigation, targeting and survivability at Northrop, said in an emailed statement. Northrop's system will provide radar warning and advanced countermeasure capabilities and will be compatible with Northrop's AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) aboard F-16s. As these aircraft acquire modern active electronically scanned arrays, such as the SABR, the F-16′s electronic warfare capabilities must integrate with those sensors, Tintner said. “The electronic warfare suite will significantly increase protection to F-16 operators as they execute their missions in increasingly contested environments,” Tintner said. “This system draws on the best of our experience from multiple programs to create an effective and affordable solution to keep the Viper relevant throughout its service life.” The design uses open systems, ultra wide-band architecture for greater instantaneous bandwidth to react to modern threats, and it is scalable to meet operational needs of the U.S. and international partners, the company added. Northrop received notification for this downselect in November 2020. https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2021/01/12/northrop-will-provide-f-16-electronic-warfare-system/