Firebird - Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman’s Optionally-Manned Firebird Demonstrates Operational Flexibility

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 13:00:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO – April 6, 2021 – Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Firebird multi-sensor aircraft showcased the versatility of the optionally-manned autonomous system as it flew to various locations across the United States last month. The ability of Firebird to be flown manned through national airspace is a demonstration of its unique operational flexibility for self-deployment and its rapid relocation ability to adapt to specific user needs and operational requirements.

The company flew Firebird almost 9,000 miles around the US with stops in Dayton, Ohio; Washington DC; Patuxent River, Maryland; as well as Tampa, Miami and Key West, Florida.

“Our flights showcased one of its key differentiators – the ability to position the system in a manned configuration, then convert to autonomous operations for persistent ISR in under two hours,” said Jane Bishop, vice president and general manager, autonomous systems, Northrop Grumman. “At each stop, plane-side briefings provided customers the opportunity to see first-hand the operational versatility of the platform, its large sensor bay, and rapid configurability for changing mission needs.”

Firebird is a medium altitude long endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that is designed for flexibility and affordability. Customers can install new payloads in as little as one day, and swap payloads in 30 minutes making the system suitable for numerous domains and missions.

The Firebird multi-sensor aircraft prepares for its multi stop demonstration tour.

The flights concluded in Key West, Florida where the team conducted a series of manned maritime operational events that included a four-sensor package containing two high-definition EO/IR sensors; a maritime configured multi-spectral sensor for small target detection; and an AIS receiver.

Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 97,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.

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Northrop Grumman’s Firebird Completes Successful Multi-Day Capability Demonstration Flights

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 13:00:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO – July 14, 2020 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) recently completed a series of mission focused engagements, including integration and testing of Overwatch Imaging’s TK-9 Earthwatch sensor. The sensor was integrated in one day as part of ongoing capability flights validating the wide range of missions the Firebird system can perform for government and commercial customers.

Firebird aircraft taxis ahead of night demonstration flight.

“During this exercise we rapidly integrated sensors and utilized Firebird’s operational flexibility to demonstrate the system’s unique capability,” said Jane Bishop, vice president and general manager, autonomous systems, Northrop Grumman. “We leveraged Firebird’s communications suite and data processing power to patch in customers to our virtual feed so they were able to view flight activities in real time.”

Over a four day period, Firebird demonstrated several data collection missions, including wide-area surveillance, pattern of life monitoring, route clearance, search and rescue, high-value subject tracking, hostage recovery, and fire hotspot detection. The Firebird team carried out four 10+ hour manned flights with 100 percent aircraft availability for day and night operations.

Northrop Grumman’s Firebird product line delivers medium altitude, long endurance multi-mission flexibility and affordability. Available in autonomous and optionally-piloted configurations, Firebird is designed to deliver critical ISR capability to meet customer needs. The system delivers 30-plus hours of endurance and flies up to 25,000 feet, providing customers near real-time actionable intelligence.

Overwatch Imaging provides automated airborne imaging systems for piloted and unmanned aircraft. Their TK-9 Earthwatch sensor has a flexible onboard AI-enabled automatic image processing engine that allows the system to adapt to new roles in new environments very quickly, from natural disaster emergency management to border security patrol and large-scale infrastructure inspection.

Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.

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Northrop Grumman Announces New Orders for its Optionally Piloted Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance System Ahead of European Debut

Wed, 17 Jul 2019 12:00:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO – July 17, 2019 – Marking its European debut, Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Firebird product line will be showcased at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, in the United Kingdom, July 19-21.

Northrop Grumman's Firebird delivers unprecedented multi-mission flexibility.

The company is also announcing signed agreements with Tenax Aerospace and Grand Sky Development Company, LLC ("Grand Sky") for rights to purchase Firebird, the company’s new, optionally piloted intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft system.

“Flexibility, whether in cockpit configuration, payloads, or in owning and purchasing Firebird, is at the core of what makes this aircraft such an attractive ISR option for government partners and private industry,” said Brian Chappel, vice president, autonomous systems, Northrop Grumman. “Having flown over two dozen sensors on Firebird’s proven architecture, we are ready to offer Firebird to a wide range of nations, U.S. government and civilian agencies, and businesses with critical data collection needs.”

Northrop Grumman’s Firebird product line delivers medium altitude, long endurance multi-mission flexibility and an unbeatable value. Available in manned, autonomous and optionally piloted configurations, Firebird is designed to deliver critical ISR capability to meet customer mission needs.

Grand Sky is the nation’s first commercial unmanned aerial vehicle testing and training center. Located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Grand Sky is home to one of Northrop Grumman’s North Dakota locations. Tenax Aerospace is a leading provider of special mission aircraft and related aviation services to the U.S. government and commercial customers. Both companies see Firebird as meeting critical information gaps for their businesses.

“We are excited to bring Firebird to Grand Sky and to utilize its long-endurance and variable payload capabilities for commercial customers. Our goal is to support energy infrastructure monitoring and humanitarian and disaster relief operations by leveraging Firebird’s range, altitude and endurance,” said Thomas Swoyer Jr., president and partner with Grand Sky. “We see the incredible efficiencies to be gained in the market with technology like Firebird, enabling affordable data gathering on a scale not previously available to the commercial market space.”

“Firebird allows Tenax Aerospace to bring industry leading adaptability and flexibility in data collection at an extremely affordable price point to meet the needs of our sophisticated U.S. government and global security customers,” said Tom Foley, chairman, Tenax Aerospace. “Firebird provides a unique flexibility and responsiveness that we feel is essential for the critical missions we support today and in the future.”

Firebird is equipped with wide band Line-of-Sight (LoS) and/or Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLoS) data links, onboard storage and accessible processing for rapid data exploitation to ensure timely completion of missions for industry and government customers. The system’s unique design allows sensors to be changed rapidly as plug-and-play devices, reducing first time payload integration time from months to days and enabling rapid field changes in less than an hour to increase operational availability and tailored mission suitability. Firebird delivers 30-plus hours of endurance and up to 25,000 feet, providing customers near real-time actionable intelligence.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information.

Northrop Grumman's Firebird delivers unprecedented multi-mission flexibility.

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Northrop Grumman’s Firebird Capability Showcased at XPONENTIAL

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 19:00:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO – April 29, 2019 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) will be highlighting Firebird capabilities with potential suppliers and business partners at XPONENTIAL. Firebird is an ultra-flexible, proven airframe with autonomous mission capability. Available in manned, autonomous and optionally piloted configurations, Firebird is designed to provide ISR payload and cockpit flexibility through truly open architecture and plug-and-play payload integration. The system’s unique hardware- and software enable users to carry out a wide range of ISR missions for 30 plus hours at approximately 25,000 feet.

Available in manned, autonomous and optionally piloted configurations, Firebird is designed to provide ISR payload and cockpit flexibility through truly open architecture and plug-and-play payload integration.

“At the heart of Firebird’s architecture are flexibility and rapid mission capability integration,” said Brian Chappel, vice president, autonomous systems, Northrop Grumman. “This architecture has been flown with over two dozen payloads, from electro-optic and infrared cameras to radar and signals and communications payloads, with demonstrations of up to five sensors operating simultaneously. By working with new hardware and software partners, we can bring even greater capabilities to Firebird thanks to the systems’ open architecture.”

Chappel will be speaking at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s XPONENTIAL trade show in Chicago on April 29 at 3 p.m. CST. His Trending Topics discussion will be held in room S402a and will focus on how flexibility is driving the future of autonomous systems.

Chappel will be speaking at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s XPONENTIAL trade show in Chicago on April 29 at 3 p.m. CST.

Firebird is equipped with wide band Line-of-Sight (LoS) and Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLoS) data links, onboard storage and accessible processing for rapid data exploitation to ensure timely completion of missions. The system’s unique design allows sensors to be changed rapidly as plug-and-play devices, reducing ‘first time’ payload integration time from months to days and enabling rapid field changes in less than an hour to increase operational availability and tailored mission suitability.

Learn more about the Firebird product line at www.northropgrumman.com/firebird.

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