MELBOURNE, Fla., Aug. 19, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) delivered the 14th E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft to the 93rd Air Control Wing (ACW) today, six weeks ahead of schedule.
This is the last airplane to be delivered to the active Air Force's 93rd ACW. Effective Oct. 1, 2002, the Joint STARS mission transitions to the Air National Guard under the Air Force's Future Total Force concept. Future deliveries will go to the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th ACW. All E-8C aircraft currently assigned to the 93rd ACW will remain at Robins Air Force Base but will be assigned to the 116th ACW, a new "blended wing" with both active duty Air Force and Air National Guard personnel.
"We've had a long and productive relationship with the 93rd ACW and look forward to building on that partnership with the 116th ACW. Our Joint STARS support team at Robins Air Force Base is already fully engaged to ensure the transition to the 116th is seamless," said Frank Moore, Joint STARS program vice president.
This is the fourth aircraft in the Block 20 configuration, providing integrated commercial off-the-shelf on-board signal processing capability. This technology provides the Air Force with increased reliability, advanced technologies and increased computing power for future battle management missions, all at a lower cost per aircraft. Northrop Grumman continues to upgrade the first 10 aircraft delivered to the Air Force to the Block 20 configuration, the second of which will be completed by the end of 2002.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector is the prime contractor for the E-8C Joint STARS. Norden Systems, a unit of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector, manufactures the Joint STARS radar sensor at its Norwalk, Conn., facility.
Airframe refurbishment and modification takes place at Integrated Systems' Airborne Ground Surveillance and Battle Management Systems facility in Lake Charles, La. The Joint STARS radar and the computer systems are installed here, where the aircraft undergo ground- and flight-testing.
Northrop Grumman also provides support to the Air Force under a Total Systems Support Responsibility (TSSR) contract. The TSSR effort is a unique partnership between the company and the Air Force to provide the most efficient support to the E-8C Joint STARS fleet, maximizing operational availability and mission reliability.
Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems 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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