U.S. NAVY AWARDS ZPY-8 OSPREY 30 RADAR INTEGRATION CONTRACT FOR MQ-8C FIRE SCOUT UAV
NEWTOWN, Conn. - The U.S. Navy, NAVAIR HQ of Patuxent River, Md. has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems of San Diego, Calif. a $3.6 million contract as part of the MQ-8C UAV radar program of record phase II integration. The contract will help Northrop Grumman complete integration design and Systems Engineering Technical Review (SETR) to modify the MQ-8C Fire Scout to accept the Leonardo ZPY-8 Osprey 30 radar.
Leonardo's line of Osprey radars operate in the X-band are designed for low size, weight, and power implementations, but with a fairly long distance 200 NM (370 km) maximum range. The radar includes an AESA that allows maritime surveillance, air-to-air surveillance, track, and intercept, and SAR mapping missions. Osprey's configuration setups can include up to four fixed antennas, depending on azimuth coverage requirements.
The latest Northrop Grumman award is part of an overall program to modify up to 21 MQ-8C Fire Scouts with the ZPY-8 Osprey 30. The program has a Justification & Approval (J&A) that runs through September 30, 2021. However, the radar modification's integration phase is not expected to last more than a year or two. With a mature radar from Leonardo and a fairly mature platform from Northrop Grumman, integration should be a relatively easy endeavor.
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