FARNBOROUGH 2002 AIR SHOW, FARNBOROUGH, U.K., July 22, 2002 (WITH PHOTO) -- (PRIMEZONE) A Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) team, including Arete Associates, Tucson, Ariz., completed the first of a series of flight tests conducted earlier this month of an airborne electro-optic sensor system on a government test range off the Atlantic coast of Florida.
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://media.primezone.com/noc/
The system will be used to obtain 3-D imagery of the surface, underwater objects and general bottom mapping or bathymetry in a river or ocean. It is a high-speed, wide-area surveillance sensor capable of imaging large swaths of water, resulting in extremely large collections of data.
Additionally, the system has a wide variety of over-land applications where large amounts of 3-D, geo-accurate topographic data are needed.
"Our tests were very successful," said John Casko, program director, Airborne Mine Countermeasures. "We were able to effectively image the water column from the surface to the bottom in a variety of environmental conditions."
The system uses a modular, expandable hardware and software architecture, which readily lends itself to the addition of sensors and exploitation software for expanded capabilities. This helicopter-mounted electro-optical sensor pod will be used for data collection and to demonstrate a wide range of military and civilian applications.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector is developing the system at the sector's Airborne Ground Surveillance and Battle Management (AGS&BM) Systems facility in Melbourne, Fla. A recognized leader in advanced surveillance systems, the AGS&BM business area produces the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, for the U.S. Air Force. Additionally, the business area is developing Airborne Mine Detection and Classification Systems for the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps.
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.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an $18 billion, global defense company with its worldwide headquarters in Los Angeles. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in defense and commercial electronics, systems integration, information technology and nuclear and non-nuclear shipbuilding and systems. With nearly 100,000 employees and operations in 44 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
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