Four RQ-4 Global Hawks from Northrop Grumman are moving from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to Misawa Air Base, Japan, for the summer. The mission, which began this month and will extend into the fall, allows the aircraft to avoid the hurricane season in Guam. The Global Hawks will demonstrate their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for the Japanese Ministry of Defense, which selected the Global Hawk system to enhance its ISR capabilities earlier this year.
In that context, SDArabia held an interview with Mr Gustav N.C. Gulmert Director, Strategic International Communications in the company, to know more about Northrop Grumman’s UAV’s capabilities.
1- – How do you evaluate your systems (UAVs) efficiency with the meteoric rise of the military operations against terrorism?
Northrop Grumman’s unmanned systems are at the forefront of innovation, intelligence, endurance, capability, affordability and adaptability. They operate in areas where manned vehicles cannot, allow for prolonged missions, and help reduce risk to both national security and human lives.
Some measurement examples:
• Our high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned systems can operate at altitudes of 60,000 feet and fly for over thirty hours, surveying thousands of square miles on a single mission. Northrop Grumman HALE variants have surpassed 150,000 flight hours, over 100,000 of them categorized as combat/operational hours. Many of those operational hours were counter-terrorism related.
• The U.S. Air Force Global Hawk holds the designation as the safest aircraft in the US Air Force’s active inventory. Additionally, the Global Hawk program received the coveted Dr. James G. Roche Sustainment Excellence Award in 2012, 2013 and 2014 for demonstrating the most improved performance in aircraft maintenance and logistics readiness.
• Our systems reduce risk to human lives in the face of adversaries.
2- – Are you working on any upgrades on your systems so it can meet the growing needs in using drones in military operations?
Northrop Grumman continuously reviews and develops upgrades and solutions to meet/exceed evolving military requirements.
3- – Do you consider the Middle East market an essential one with respect to you? Are there any potential deals expected in this area?
The Middle East is a priority market for Northrop Grumman’s overall capabilities, which is why the company has established offices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. However, unmanned systems are typically discussed at the government to government level and questions on potential sales would need to be directed there.
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