EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 14, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- (WITH PHOTO) Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Integrated Systems sector has been awarded two Phase II contracts by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to continue its work on the Quiet Supersonic Platform (QSP), a program designed to lay the foundation for efficient and capable long-range supersonic aircraft that will operate with a less intense sonic boom.
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://media.wieck.com/public.html?WIK2002051450590
Under one of the contracts, for systems studies and technology development, Northrop Grumman will validate and demonstrate the quiet supersonic concepts it defined during the first phase of the QSP program. This contract, valued at $2.7 million, includes wind-tunnel testing of a scale model of Northrop Grumman's preferred QSP aircraft concept.
In addition, Northrop Grumman will work with Raytheon Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan., on the fabrication and testing of a structural component made with an advanced composite core. Northrop Grumman's previous QSP systems studies work was performed under a Phase I contract awarded in 2000.
The other contract, valued at $3.4 million, is for additional work on the first flight demonstration of a sonic boom mitigated by aircraft shaping. The flight test, scheduled for this fall, will use a Northrop Grumman F-5E aircraft with a modified forward fuselage to produce a shaped sonic boom that is expected to be noticeably quieter than a conventional sonic boom. Northrop Grumman's work on the sonic boom demonstration began under a DARPA contract awarded in July 2001.
Work on both contracts is expected to conclude at the end of December 2002. Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems' work on the QSP program is performed at its Air Combat Systems facility in El Segundo.
Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a premier aerospace systems integration enterprise. Integrated Systems has the capabilities to design, develop, integrate, produce and support complete systems, as well as airframe subsystems, for airborne surveillance and battle management, early warning, airborne electronic warfare and air combat aircraft. It is also integrating these capabilities for emerging network-centric warfare concepts.
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