Article Posted on : - Mar 09, 2011

US Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk

BETHPAGE, NEW YORK (BNS): Northrop Grumman Corporation's MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) programme has conducted system Critical Design Review (CDR) with the US Navy.

"It is gratifying to see the design mature from the Preliminary Design Review to the Critical Design Review over the past 12 months," said Steve Enewold, Northrop Grumman vice president and programme manager for BAMS.

"The System Development and Demonstration programme's first two fuselages are under construction at our Moss Point, Mississippi facility, and the first will ship next month to our Palmdale Manufacturing Center in California for final assembly and first flight next year," he said.

The MQ-4C BAMS UAS air vehicle is a marinized version of the US Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk. Changes to the RQ-4B include a stronger wing, an ice protection system and a sensor suite based upon components of (or entire systems) already fielded in the Department of Defense inventory.

MQ-4C BAMS UAS is a versatile maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft system that will perform maritime missions independently or in direct collaboration with fleet assets, a company statement said.

BAMS will play a key role in providing fleet commanders with a persistent, reliable picture of maritime surface contacts, covering vast areas of Open Ocean and littoral regions in a highly efficient manner. It is the latest addition to a growing family of unmanned systems developed by Northrop Grumman.