B-2 STEALTH RADAR SYSTEM NEAR TESTING.Byline: - Daily News PALMDALE - Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. Corporation said it and Raytheon Company are closer to flight-testing a new radar system for the B-2 stealth bomber. The B-2 radar-modernization team passed a final design review by the U.S. Air Force; delivered the first test model of the APQ-181 radar The AN/APQ-181 is an all-weather, low probability of intercept (LPI) radar system designed by Hughes Aircraft (now Raytheon) for the U.S. Air Force B-2A Spirit bomber aircraft. The system was developed in the mid-1980s and entered service in 1993. for integration, test and software development; and completed tests that proved that the hardware and software work together. Northrop Grumman, prime contractor for the overall B-2 program, also leads the radar-modernization team that includes Raytheon, the radar-system provider. The effort will replace the current antenna with an active, electronically scanned array An electronically scanned array (ESA), or a phased array, offers many advantages over mechanically-scanned antennas such as instantaneous beam scanning, the availability of multiple concurrent agile beams and concurrently operating radar modes. antenna. ``Radar modernization is one of a series of programs Northrop Grumman and the Air Force are conducting to enhance the B-2's ability to respond to emerging worldwide threats as a key element of the military's network-centric warfare Network-centric warfare (NCW), now commonly called network-centric operations (NCO), is a new military doctrine or theory of war pioneered by the United States Department of Defense. concept,'' said Gene Fraser, vice president and B-2 program manager at Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. The APQ-181 is among a new type of radar system that replaced mechanically scanned antennas with faster and more-reliable solid-state arrays. The system's transmit/receive modules are cheaper, lighter and more advanced, Northrop Grumman says. The radar work is part of a $382 million system development and demonstration contract awarded by the Air Force in 2004. During the SDD (Software Design Description) The architecture of an information system. See IDD. phase, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are developing and testing the radar and will install six systems on operational B-2 aircraft of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base (Whiteman AFB) is a base of the United States Air Force in Johnson County, Missouri, United States. It is near the town of Knob Noster, Missouri. The population was 3,814 at the 2000 census. , Mo. This phase will be followed by production to field the new radar and install the new antenna into the B-2 fleet. Northrop Grumman's B-2 program is based in Palmdale and Raytheon's work is based in El Segundo. |
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