NORTHROP NABS AIR-SAFETY PACT.Byline: JIM Jim Miss Watson’s runaway slave; Huck’s traveling companion. [Am. Lit.: Huckleberry Finn] See : Escape SKEEN Staff Writer MOJAVE -- 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. will continue development of an anti-terrorism system for jetliners under a Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States contract, an effort that could lead to additional flight test work at the Mojave Airport. Northrop Grumman has received a $55.4 million contract to continue the development of a system aimed at decoying shoulder-launched missiles fired at jetliners. Under the contract, Northrop Grumman will build 12 missile defense systems it calls Guardian; modify 11 MD-10 cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft is an airplane designed and used for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. This role demands a number of features that makes a cargo aircraft instantly identifiable; a "fat" looking fuselage, a high-wing to allow the cargo area to sit near the ground, a to handle the system; and fly nine of the systems aboard MD-10 aircraft. ``We have the technical issues in hand,'' said Jack Pledger PLEDGER. The same as pawner. (q.v.) , Northrop Grumman's director of business development for infrared countermeasures This article is about missile counter measures. For IRCMonitor, see Wikipedia:IRCMonitor. Infrared countermeasures (IRCM) are devices designed to protect aircraft from infrared homing ("heat seeking") missiles by confusing the missiles' infrared . ``It's the operational issues that need to be taken care of. What we need to prove is the reliability of the system.'' The Guardian system is contained in a pod that is mounted on a jet's belly. Four sensors detect an approaching missile, which is then tracked by an infrared camera. A laser signal is beamed at the missile to confuse its heat-seeking guidance system and decoy DECOY. A pond used for the breeding and maintenance of water-fowl. 11 Mod. 74, 130; S. C. 3 Salk. 9; Holt, 14 11 East, 571. it away from the jetliner target. At the end of the 18-month contract, Northrop Grumman will have 12,000 hours of operational experience with the system on aircraft in a real-world environment, Pledger said. Similar technology has been in use by the military since 2000. However, there are a number of challenges to making the system practical for commercial airlines, including reducing maintenance. Military systems require maintenance after a few hours of flying, something that is not practical in a commercial operation, officials said. This phase of the development will include a live-fire test at the White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is a rocket range in New Mexico operated by the United States Army. The range covers an area of almost 3,200 mi² (8 287 km²), approximately three times the size of Rhode Island, making it in New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). . The test will use a cable car riding wires between two mountain ranges and propane burners to simulate aircraft engines. ``As far as the missile can see, it looks like an airplane,'' Pledger said of the test article. The missile's warhead will be removed and replaced with a telemetry telemetry Highly automated communications process by which data are collected from instruments located at remote or inaccessible points and transmitted to receiving equipment for measurement, monitoring, display, and recording. package to capture and relay test information. The test is slated to occur in late 2007. The system was also designed to be as maintenance-friendly as possible. A pod carrying the system can be installed in less than 10 minutes. The quick installation means there won't be gate or departure delays, Pledger said. At 500 pounds, the system weighs about the equivalent of two passengers and their luggage, Pledger said. Flight testing at the Mojave Airport showed that the addition of the pod on the aircraft is well within the Department of Homeland Security's goal of adding less than 1 percent additional drag. Northrop Grumman used the Mojave Airport for flight testing to meet Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control certification requirements for flying the altered jetliners. As new additional types of aircraft are selected for the installation of the system, that work will come to Mojave. ``When we do the modifications and testing for the FAA, we do that at Mojave,'' Pledger said. ``The Mojave Airport is ideally suited for that.'' The system is being developed under a Department of Homeland Security effort to find ways to protect jets from shoulder-launched missiles the federal government says have been acquired by at least 27 terrorist groups. In addition to Northrop Grumman, the Department of Homeland Security also issued a similar contract to BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. to develop anti-missile systems. Interest in pursuing a protective system surged after a November 2002 attack against an Israeli jetliner in which two shoulder-launched missiles were fired as it was taking off from an airport in Kenya. That aircraft escaped serious damage. About a year later, a cargo jetliner was damaged by a missile while taking off from an airport in Baghdad. Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States officials say that while there is no credible, specific intelligence information about planned shoulder-launched missile attacks against U.S. commercial aircraft, they are aggressively pursuing technologies to counter the potential threat. The Department of Homeland Security set a goal for the two contractor teams to come up with systems that would cost $1 million or less by the time the 1,000th unit is produced. ``We think we will be able to reach that ($1 million mark) by the 200th or 300th unit, depending on what type of program they want,'' Pledger said. In previous phases of the system's development, Northrop Grumman completed a 16-month flight test program that included the use of a ground-based electronic missile surrogate to simulate the launch of a shoulder-fired missile toward aircraft during takeoff and landing. The tests were performed on both an MD-11 and a 747 aircraft. In each test, the Guardian system functioned flawlessly, automatically detecting the simulated launch and mock missile, company officials said. james.skeen(at)dailynews (661) 267-5743 CAPTION(S): photo |
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