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| The first NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) aircraft at its unveiling in Palmdale, Calif. Photo: Northrop Grumman |
[Avionics Today 06-05-2015] Expanding NATO’s joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability, Northrop Grumman and its industry partners together with NATO leaders have unveiled the first NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) aircraft. The unmanned aircraft, a wide area surveillance Global Hawk, is part of a broader system of systems solution that look to advance the alliance’s evolving ISR needs during a full range of NATO’s missions, such as protection of ground troops and civilian populations, border control and maritime safety, the fight against terrorism, crisis management and humanitarian assistance in natural disasters.
With the ability to fly for up to 30 hours at a time, the high-altitude long-endurance system will provide NATO leaders with persistent global situational awareness. The aircraft is equipped the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) sensor, which will provide critical data to commanders during operations in any weather, day or night. The NATO AGS system will also be able to fuse sensor data, continuously detect and track moving objects and provide detailed imagery.