HERNDON, Va., Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Northrop Grumman
Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Hunter Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), in
use with the U.S. Army since 1996, recently surpassed 100,000
combat flight hours in service.
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The MQ-5B Hunter, which is currently deployed supporting
contingency operations across the globe, provides warfighters with
state-of-the-art reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition
(RSTA), communications relay and weapons delivery.
"Our very close working relationship with our Army customer has
been critical to the program's enduring success," said Steve Hogan, vice president and general manager,
Integrated Logistics and Modernization division, Northrop Grumman
Technical Services. "The team's innovative partnering approach has
been seamless over the years. The team has established an
impeccable track record of continuous modernization and highly
reliable performance while serving on the front lines
shoulder-to-shoulder with our nation's warfighters in combat
operations."
The RQ-5A Hunter was the Army's first fielded UAS. The MQ-5B is
the next-generation Hunter, continuing a legacy of service to Army
corps, division and brigade warfighters. Flying over the
battlefield with its multimission optronic payload, the MQ-5B
gathers RSTA information in real time and relays it via video link
to commanders and soldiers on the ground.
The MQ-5B Hunter is distinguished by its heavy fuel engines, its
"wet" (fuel-carrying) extended center wing with weapons-capable
hard points and a modern avionics suite. The MQ-5B Hunter system
uses the Army's One System ground control station and remote video
terminal. It also carries a communications relay package to extend
the radio range of warfighters. Hunter is also equipped with a
differential GPS automatic takeoff and landing system.
"This significant milestone is a credit to the sustained
exceptional high levels of performance and technical expertise,
dedication, professionalism and pride of all of our Northrop
Grumman engineers, maintainers and operators," said Rob Sova, Hunter program manager, Northrop
Grumman Technical Services. "This team lives and breathes our
customer's mission and strives to exceed customer expectations
every single day."
The MQ-5B features a robust, fixed-wing, twin tail-boom design
with redundant control systems powered by two heavy fuel engines –
one engine to "push" and another to "pull" the air vehicle. Another
Hunter capability is its relay mode that allows one Hunter to be
controlled by another UAV at extended ranges or over terrain
obstacles typical of those found in the Balkans and Afghanistan.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation