Tag Archives: northrop grumman

UPDATED: Marine Corps Nears IOC Decision on G/ATOR Radar System

UPDATED: Marine Corps Nears IOC Decision on G/ATOR Radar System

G/ATOR undergoes cold weather testing, one of many steps in the rigorous process of ensuring that the radar is ready to support the Marines’ missions. Northrop Grumman photo.

This post has been updated to include information from an interview with the G/ATOR program office. It has also been updated to clarify that the Initial Operational Capability declaration could be made after outfitting two units with the training and spares needed to sustain the early radars delivered to the Marine Corps, but that initial operational test and evaluation is pending the delivery of later lots with a new semiconductor.

The Marine Corps is about to declare initial operational capability for its AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) after the service certified that two operational units had the training and logistics in place to sustain the new radar. Read More

Top Stories 2017: U.S. Navy Acquisition and Maintenance

Top Stories 2017: U.S. Navy Acquisition and Maintenance

USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2017.

The following is part of a series. Please also see Top Stories: International AcquisitionNavy OperationsMarine Corps OperationsMarine Corps and Coast Guard AcquisitionInternational Operations and New Administration

2017 began with the promise of planning for a larger fleet: at the end of 2016, the Navy announced a 355-ship requirement, and the incoming Trump Administration expressed its support for a larger military and a heftier Navy. Few concrete steps were taken this year, though, to begin a buildup – though many programs that will be pivotal to the 355-ship fleet of the future reached significant programmatic milestones in 2017. 

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MQ-25 Stingray Unmanned Aerial Tanker Could Almost Double Strike Range of U.S. Carrier Air Wing

MQ-25 Stingray Unmanned Aerial Tanker Could Almost Double Strike Range of U.S. Carrier Air Wing

Boeing image of the company’s MQ-25A Stingray bid. USNI News Photo

The inclusion of the unmanned MQ-25 Stingray aerial tanker into the U.S. carrier air wing could increase the effective strike range of the strike fighters aboard aircraft carriers by up to 400 nautical miles, the commander of Naval Air Forces told U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings. Read More

General Atomics: Our MQ-25A Stingray Design will be 'Optimized' for Navy's Needs

General Atomics: Our MQ-25A Stingray Design will be ‘Optimized’ for Navy’s Needs

An early artist’s concept of the General Atomics Sea Avenger taken from a display monitor. The design shows a wing-body-tail configuration US Naval Institute Photo

POWAY, Calif. – The Navy, in its latest draft request for proposals issued last month, pitched four major defense firms to submit concepts for a future unmanned aerial refueling tanker that top officials say could be flying with the first aircraft carrier wing as early as 2019 or 2020. Read More

Panel: Open Architecture Key to Pentagon’s Future Vertical Lift Program

Panel: Open Architecture Key to Pentagon’s Future Vertical Lift Program

The Bell V-247 tiltrotor is an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that will combine the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, and would provide long-endurance persistent expeditionary and surveillance and fires capabilities. Bell Image

Getting reliability, maintenance and a backbone built on open architecture right first is how the Pentagon is approaching its future vertical lift programs, defense officials said on Tuesday. Read More