1 Vol. 3, No. 1 January 2011 - Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems

PRODUCTS AND
PROGRAM NEWS
Celebrating Our Space Shuttle Crews
More than 500 people joined Northrop Grumman leaders and
aviation enthusiasts from across Long Island, N.Y., to pay tribute
to several NASA space shuttle astronauts at the 2010 Cradle of
Aviation Museum Gala in Garden City, N.Y. Pictured (l-r) are:
astronaut Bill Shepherd of Babylon, N.Y.; astronaut Mary
Cleave of Great Neck, N.Y.; Northrop Grumman Sector Vice
President and Division General Manager Pat McMahon
and her husband, Bob Mansbart; astronaut Kevin Kregel
of Amityville, N.Y.; astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson of
Lakewood, Calif.; and astronaut and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
of Melbourne, Fla. Nelson, who is a strong supporter of
Northrop Grumman’s Joint Surveillance Attack Radar
System program based in Melbourne, and the E-2D
Advanced Hawkeye production line in St. Augustine,
Fla., served as keynote speaker for the Spirit of Discovery
Award. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, also a strong supporter
of these programs, attended the event to recognize his
longtime friend and senate colleague, and all the shuttle
honorees. Northrop Grumman is a major supporter of the Cradle
of Aviation Museum, and Airborne Early Warning Programs Vice
President Jim Culmo serves on its board of directors.
–Dianne Baumert-Moyik
Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors Honors DSP
Photo by Robert Brown
Maj. Johnny Erwin, right, U.S. Air Force program
manager for the Defense Support Program (DSP), and
John Kravec, center, Space Systems Division DSP program
operations manager, accept a resolution adopted Nov. 9
by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors recognizing the
missile warning satellites’ 40th anniversary of successful
on-orbit performance. Presenting the resolution is
Supervisor Don Knabe, whose district includes Aerospace
Systems’ Space Park facilities in Redondo Beach, Calif.,
where all 23 DSP satellites were built. –Bob Bishop
Nancy Epstein, Cradle of Aviation Museum
Fire-X Successfully Completes
Unmanned Flight
WARREN COMER
Fire-X, a new vertical unmanned
air system (VUAS) developed
by Northrop Grumman and Bell
Helicopter, flew autonomously for the
first time last month at the U.S. Army’s Yuma
Proving Ground, Ariz. The flight culminated
an unmanned aircraft development,
integration and test process that took the
team less than one year to complete.
“We put the concept on paper and brought
those ideas to life in just 11 months,” said
George Spongberg, Fire-X program manager.
“Fire-X represents how we can use existing
unmanned technologies and integrate them
into airframes to meet different capability
needs of our customers.”
First flight involved a short-duration hover
to ensure safe and reliable autonomous flight.
Integration of intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance (ISR) sensor payloads and
cargo-carrying capability test flights are set
to occur early this year.
The successful development of Fire-X
was accomplished by integrating the
MQ-8B Fire Scout’s proven unmanned
systems architecture with the Bell 407
helicopter, a Federal Aviation Administrationcertified
helicopter that’s been in worldwide,
commercial service since 1996. These
activities ensured proper installation and
communication with control stations, paving
the way for first flight.
Fire-X is designed to carry ISR sensors and
a useful load of more than 3,200 pounds —
for fuel, payloads and/or enhanced cargohauling
capabilities. It is unique among
vertical UASs in that it can carry its cargo
either internally or externally, giving field
commanders the flexibility to ferry cargo, mail
or even wounded service personnel in or out
of the battle zone. The Fire-X demonstration
aircraft also retains the ability to be optionally
PRODUCTS AND
PROGRAM NEWS
piloted, an appealing aspect to some
military users.
Fire-X’s capabilities not only address the
emerging unmanned systems needs of the
U.S. military but also demonstrate Northrop
Grumman’s ability to integrate a proven
unmanned systems architecture into other
airframes. And because Fire-X is based on
a mature, commercially proven airframe, it
offers the company’s customers a VUAS that
can be fielded much sooner and much less
expensively than other competing systems.
“Congratulations to the Fire-X team for
proving how a low-risk, fast-track solution
can meet emerging military needs for cargo
and ISR capabilities,” said Paul Meyer, sector
vice president and general manager of
Advanced Programs and Technology. “The
achievements of the team to meet first flight
goals this year have really put us on the right
track for further success in 2011.”
14 Aerospace Now January 2011
January 2011 Aerospace Now 15