Global Hawk UAV Derivative Sports 30 Hours Endurance, High-Tech
Surveillance Gear
ANN has learned the
German Ministry of Defense (MoD) has awarded a $559 million
contract to EuroHawk GmbH, a joint-venture company formed by
Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS, for the development, test
and support of the Euro Hawk unmanned signals intelligence (SIGINT)
surveillance and reconnaissance system.
Formed as a 50-50 joint venture of Northrop Grumman and EADS,
Immenstaad, Germany-based EuroHawk GmbH will act as the national
prime contractor for the German MoD through the entire life cycle
of the Euro Hawk system.
The Euro Hawk is a derivative of the USAF RQ-4 Block 20 Global
Hawk built by Northrop Grumman, equipped with a new SIGINT mission
system developed by EADS. The SIGINT system provides stand-off
capability to detect electronic intelligence (ELINT) radar emitters
and communications intelligence emitters. EADS will also provide
the ground stations that will receive and analyze the data from
Euro Hawk as part of an integrated system solution. A joint team
will conduct integration and flight test activity in Germany in
late 2009.
"The EuroHawk GmbH
effort builds upon our longstanding experience in developing
persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
systems by bringing together expertise from across industry to meet
the capability needs of our customers," said Scott J. Seymour,
president of Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. "This
program has been a major collaborative effort and Northrop Grumman
is committed to ensuring Euro Hawk is a continued success story in
the history of trans-Atlantic cooperation."
EADS and Northrop Grumman initiated their cooperative effort in
August 2000 by signing an agreement to jointly develop requirements
for a High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) ISR system that would meet the German MoD need for airborne
wide-area surveillance and reconnaissance.
"This decision is a further step forward in our trans-Atlantic
cooperation. With Euro Hawk, the German Air Force will be able to
cover its own future reconnaissance requirement with ground
breaking technology, thus enabling the German Air Force to assume
control of its intelligence activities," said Stefan Zoller, member
of the EADS Executive Committee for Defense & Security Systems.
"This gained information superiority is a decisive contribution
toward improving the safety of our troops in the field.
Furthermore, Euro Hawk is convincing proof of how the Bundeswehr is
transforming and acquiring network enhanced capabilities. With this
project being realized, UAV technology takes a remarkable step
forward in Europe."
Delivery of the first demonstrator is scheduled for 2010, with
the following four systems scheduled tentatively between 2011 and
2014. The Euro Hawk system will replace the aging fleet of Breguet
Atlantic aircraft, which have been in service since 1972.
The USAF and the German MoD signed a bilateral project agreement
in October 2001 for development of a HALE UAV concept. Since then,
the Northrop Grumman-EADS consortium has conducted six successful
flights demonstrating the technical feasibility of using an
unmanned platform carrying an ELINT type sensor.
The Global Hawk ELINT demo was also the first successful
operation of a UAV in controlled European airspace, paving the way
for further developments of unmanned flight in Europe and building
a great deal of confidence in the Euro Hawk concept.
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