Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) has completed greater than 25 flight tests of the U.S. Navy Triton unmanned aircraft system’s (UAS) primary maritime surveillance sensor in preparation for its installation at the aircraft.
The company is conducting risk-reduction tests of the Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) using a Gulfstream II surrogate aircraft off the California coast. The radar will provide the Triton UAS with a 360-degree view of ocean and coastal regions.
“Surrogate flights have allowed us to mature the MFAS radar’s capabilities and merge the information with information received from other sensors and kit for you to even be used on Triton,” said Mike Mackey, Triton UAS program director with Northrop Grumman. “By gathering this knowledge in real and simulated environments, we are able to refine how an operator sees data while tasking the system in flight.”
The MFAS, an active, electronically and mechanically scanned array radar, is designed for maritime surveillance missions. It uses a mixture of electronic scanning with a mechanical rotation, allowing the radar to focus on a geographic niche for longer periods – increasing detection capabilities for smaller targets, particularly in sea clutter.
Triton’s full sensor suite will allow areas as much as 2,000 nautical miles to be monitored at a time.
As prime contractor for the Navy at the Triton UAS program, Northrop Grumman is developing the system’s capabilities through 2016. The Navy’s program requires 68 aircraft to be built.
Mackey said that recent successes have demonstrated how Triton will use the MFAS radar to identify and classify the ships it picks up. The MFAS radar data at the side of other onboard information could be provided to mission operators at the ground and on to maritime forces.
“These development tests will demonstrate the variety, resolution and speed at which MFAS can detect different targets. We can be organized to put in MFAS on Triton once surrogate flight tests conclude,” said Mackey.
On May 22, the Triton UAS flew for the 1st time from Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing center in Palmdale, Calif.
The Triton UAS will replace the Navy’s aging patrol aircraft and is meant to work with the recent P-8 Poseidon manned surveillance aircraft.
Northrop Grumman is a number one global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide.
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