domingo, 31 de enero de 2010

Northrop Grumman Redelivers USS George H.W. Bush Following Successful Modernization and Maintenance

http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/xml/nitf.html?d=183096


NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Jan. 29, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) returned the nation's newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), to the U.S. Navy following the completion of modernization and maintenance work accomplished during the ship's post shakedown availability and selected restricted availability (PSA/SRA).

The company's Shipbuilding sector in Newport News, Va., was the prime contractor for the work. A PSA/SRA is a typical availability in the early life of a carrier that allows the Navy and Northrop Grumman team to resolve any items that came up during trials and delivery and make fleet modernization upgrades.

Work performed during the PSA/SRA included compartment reconfigurations, combat system and radar equipment upgrades, and minor repairs.

"Bush is a testament to the teamwork between the Navy and Newport News," said Mike Shawcross, vice president for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's aircraft carrier construction programs. "We worked closely with one another during this availability to return the ship with high quality and within budget. This is a proud and historic moment for our shipbuilders as our 10th and final Nimitz-class carrier joins the Navy's fleet, where she will serve for the next 50 years."

Named after America's 41st president, USS George H. W. Bush is the 10th and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Its keel was laid Sept. 6, 2003; it was christened Oct. 7, 2006; commissioned Jan. 10, 2009; and delivered May 11, 2009. At 1,092 feet in length, USS George H. W. Bush is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. It weighs 97,000 tons, is powered with two nuclear reactors, and operates for more than 20 years without refueling.

Northrop Grumman Showcases Global Security Capabilities at Singapore Air Show 2010

http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/xml/nitf.html?d=183110

LONDON - Jan. 29, 2010 - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) will highlight a wide range of its global security capabilities and programmes at the Singapore Air Show including airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), fire control radars and infrared countermeasures.

The air show is Asia's largest aerospace and defence event and one of the world's top three air shows. It takes place at the New Changi Exhibition Centre, Singapore 2-7 February.

"Our customer base across South East Asia is extremely important to us -- Singapore is a key market and one in which we have considerable capabilities and a wide range of products to offer," said Bill Schaefer, sector vice president of business development for the company's Aerospace Systems sector. "Northrop Grumman's technology leadership and proven capability in many areas including airborne early warning and control and aerial surveillance are well matched to meeting the region's growing defence and security needs."

Northrop Grumman has well established relationships with Singapore and other countries in the region, and has been supporting a number of defence and civil programmes there for more than 20-years. The company has offices across Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region: Seoul, Korea; Tokyo, Japan; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore, Singapore; New Delhi, India; and Canberra, Australia.

Among the exhibits on display will be Northrop Grumman's world leading capabilities in airborne early warning and control. Featured will be the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and the multi-role electronically scanned array (MESA) radar.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye programme has modernized the E-2 weapon system by providing a new, more powerful radar and other avionics systems to create an advanced AEW&C capability. A crew workstation and flyable cockpit simulator will be available to demonstrate maritime reconnaissance.

The MESA surveillance radar is an advanced airborne surveillance sensor and provides peninsular protection enabling sophisticated air-to-air and maritime coverage and integrated friend-or-foe identification. A computer demonstration of MESA capabilities and scale model of the array will be available for viewing.

Also highlighted will be Northrop Grumman's unmanned aircraft capability including the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System based on a maritime derivative of the combat-proven RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft with sensors, and the MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle. 

The company's industry-leading Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) programmes will also be featured. A full-scale model of the corporation's newest AESA fighter sensor, the Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) will be on display. SABR is designed as a retrofit for existing Block 52 and previous F-16 aircraft and is scalable to fit other aircraft platforms and mission areas.

Presentations and models of the AN/APG-68(V)9 mechanically scanned fire control radar, and the AN/APG-81 and AN/APG-80 active electronically scanned array radars will also be present. A range of fighter sensor systems will also be highlighted including directional infrared countermeasures; AN/APR-39B(V)2 suite of integrated sensors and countermeasures; and the LITENING advanced airborne targeting and navigation pod.

Other capabilities that will be featured are the company's range of aerial targets used to simulate tactical threats for defence readiness training, air-to-air combat training and the development and evaluation of weapons systems. Scale models of the Chukar III, BQM-74E and BQM-74X targets will be on display.

Northrop Grumman's command and control capability will also be highlighted with a demonstration of the International-Joint Operational Command and Control System (I-JOCCS). The company recently announced the award of the contract by the Brunei Ministry of Defence for a joint operations centre C4ISR system, which will be based on the use of I-JOCCS.

The company's airborne, land and naval navigation products based on inertial sensors on fibre optic and micro-mechanical technology will be on display. These are manufactured in Germany by Northrop Grumman LITEF. 

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.


NASA announces 7 Feb. as final space shuttle night launch

http://mae.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=EXECW&PUBLICATION_ID=32&ARTICLE_ID=372761&C=EXECW&dcmp=rss

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., 30 Jan. 2010. Space Shuttle Endeavour is set to begin a 13-day flight to the International Space Station with a 7 Feb. launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff is planned for 4:39 a.m. Est. making this the final scheduled space shuttle night launch.

USA okays Black Hawks for Taiwan, Beijing mulls sanctions

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/01/31/337834/usa-okays-black-hawks-for-taiwan-beijing-mulls-sanctions.html

China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province and opposes arms sales to the island, has vehemently protested the deal and suspended military exchanges with the USA.

La Asociación de Afectados del Vuelo JK5022 ve carencias en el informe del incidente de Lanzarote

http://www.tecnoaereo.com/la-asociacion-de-afectados-del-vuelo-jk5022-ve-carencias-en-el-informe-del-incidente-de-lanzarote

La Asociación de Afectados del Vuelo JK5022 (que representa a las víctimas del accidente del vuelo del MD80 Spanair en Madrid-Barajas) ha denunciado la existencia de irregularidades o carencias en el informe que la Comisión de Investigación de Accidents e Incidentes de la Aviación Civil (CIAIAC) ha emitido respecto del incidente registrado en el aeródromo de Lanzarote el 5 Junio de 2007