EL SEGUNDO, Calif., April 25, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Robert A. K. Mitchell, vice president, Advanced Systems Development for Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Integrated Systems sector, has received the Reed Aeronautics Award for 2002 from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
Named for Dr. Sylvanus A. Reed, an early aeronautical engineer, designer and founding member of the organization that became the AIAA, the award is the institute's highest honor for achievements in the field of aeronautical science and engineering.
He received the award April 24 at the AIAA Global Air and Space Conference in Arlington, Va., "for the development and international deployment of the Global Hawk system." Mitchell led the team that won the original Global Hawk contract in 1995 and subsequently guided the program through its development, flight test and demonstration phases until the appointment to his current position last year.
Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial surveillance and reconnaissance system designed to provide military field commanders with high-resolution, near real-time imagery of large geographic areas. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the system, which is managed by the U.S. Air Force.
"We congratulate Bob Mitchell on his selection for this award, which recognizes his contributions to the development of unmanned systems, an area in which Northrop Grumman enjoys a leadership position in our industry," said Gary W. Ervin, sector vice president, Air Combat Systems. "Those contributions were instrumental in the transformation of unmanned systems from an unproven technology to one that plays a significant role in our nation's strategic defense planning."
Mitchell joined Northrop Grumman in 1999 after the company's acquisition of Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego, Calif., where he had served as president since 1988. Previously, he directed the Space Programs division of Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Ala. He holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Royal Air Force College in Cranwell, England, and a master's degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems, based in Dallas, Texas, is a premier aerospace systems integration enterprise. It has the capabilities to design, develop, integrate, produce and support complete aircraft systems, as well as airframe subsystems, for airborne surveillance and battle management, early warning, airborne electronic warfare and air combat missions. It is also integrating these capabilities for emerging network-centric warfare concepts.
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