NATO's Alliance Ground Surveillance System Featured at NATO Warsaw Summit
July 08 2016 - 3:07PM
Allied Command Operations, Alliance Ground
Surveillance Staff Element Implementation Office showcases the
unprecedented NATO owned and operated ISR Capability at 2016 NATO
Summit
WARSAW, Poland, July 8, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Just four years after signing the contract at the 2012 Chicago NATO
Summit, the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system will be
presented to heads of state and senior NATO and national officials
at the 2016 Warsaw Summit. The AGS operational capability will
enable the Alliance to perform extensive surveillance over wide
areas and provide actionable information on threats to our
collective security to NATO and national officials for timely
preparation of diplomatic and military responses.
A video accompanying this release is available at
https://youtu.be/reNNm7TgfpU.
The AGS Summit display is the first time the deployable elements of
the system have come together. Both air and ground elements have
entered into the formal test phase of their development process.
The aircraft's flight test program is underway at the Edwards Air
Force Test range, California. Preparations are progressing at the
AGS Main Operation Base in Sigonella, Sicily to prepare for the
arrival of the first of the five aircraft later this year. This
capability will become operational in the 2017/2018
timeframe.
"AGS is the first NATO owned-and-operated ground surveillance
system, using state-of-the-art sensors and information knowledge
management systems," said Col. Pedro Renn, NATO AGS Force
Commander. "AGS will be available to all Alliance members and will
be a key capability for Alliance strategic anticipation. The NATO
AGS Force will support the NATO Joint Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance initiative, providing indicators and warnings
necessary to ensure that NATO continues to project stability,
whilst maintaining a position of collective defence and
deterrence."
Northrop Grumman's AGS industry team includes
Airbus Defence and Space, Leonardo and Kongsberg, as well as
leading defense companies from the participating nations. The AGS
system is comprised of five air segment remotely piloted aircraft
designed and developed by Northrop Grumman as well as mobile and
transportable ground stations designed and developed by Airbus and
Leonardo.
-- Airbus Defence and Space, a division of Airbus Group is Europe's
number
one defence and space enterprise, the second largest space
business
worldwide and among the top ten global defence enterprises. It
employs
more than 38,000 people and in 2015 generated revenues of over 13
billion euros.
-- Leonardo is Italy's leading manufacturer in the
high technology sector and ranks among the top ten global players
in aerospace, defence and security. Listed on the Milan Stock
Exchange (LDO), in 2015 the company recorded consolidated revenues
of 13 billion euros. Leonardo is a multinational and
multicultural group which boasts a significant presence in three
key markets: Italy, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
-- KONGSBERG is an international, knowledge-based
group delivering high
technology systems and solutions to clients within the oil and gas
industry, merchant marine, defence and aerospace. The defence
portfolio comprises products and systems for command and control,
weapons guidance and surveillance, communications solutions and
missiles.
"I'm honored that the AGS is being presented by the operational
community to the nations' leaders at the Summit," said Brian
Chappel, vice president, autonomous systems, Northrop Grumman. "As
part of the transatlantic industry team we have had the pleasure to
work with for the past four years, Northrop Grumman is truly proud
to witness the transition of the system from the development to the
operational phase. This success could only have been achieved
through the commitment of the entire AGS team partnership - both
government and industry - working across cultures, time zones and
languages, leveraging national capabilities with the goal of
providing the Alliance with this critical capability."
As a fully NATO owned and operated system supported by the 28
Alliance nations, NATO AGS will be a key enabler of NATO's joint
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability. The wide
area surveillance Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and the fixed,
mobile and transportable ground stations will support a full range
of NATO missions, including protection of ground troops and
civilian populations, border control and maritime operations,
crisis management and humanitarian assistance in natural disasters.
The NATO AGS system is also able to ingest sensor data from
national systems to continuously detect and track ground moving
objects and deliver actionable information to decision makers in
minutes.
"We face an extremely complex threat environment," said Andrew
Tyler, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Europe. "The NATO AGS
programme will help address this and deliver a highly advanced
system of systems capability that will provide a truly
transatlantic solution for Alliance collective defence, crisis
management and cooperative security."
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems,
cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to government
and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
CONTACT: Jessica Burtness
858-618-6931 (office)
760-522-3759 (mobile)
jessica.burtness@ngc.com
Ken Beedle
+44 (0) 207 747 1910
+44 (0) 7787 174092
ken.beedle@euro.ngc.com
This
announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on
behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Northrop Grumman Corp. via Globenewswire
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