Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NOC) Unmanned Systems Center started production of the first NATO alliance ground surveillance (AGS) Block 40 Global Hawk aircraft, enhanced to meet NATO operational requirements.

NATO representatives, state dignitaries, community leaders and Northrop Grumman employees gathered to celebrate the start of production for the first of five aircraft. The system will provide NATO with unprecedented near real-time terrestrial and maritime situational awareness information throughout the full range of NATO military and civil-military missions, including peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations. The NATO AGS system will be a major contribution to NATO’s joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability.

“The variety of sensors and ability to support a wide range of missions will revolutionise how NATO collects ISR,” said Jim Edge, General Manager, NATO AGS Management Agency. “It was an honour to witness the start of production for the first NATO aircraft, and I’m excited at being one step closer to delivering the AGS system.”

The NATO AGS system will be equipped with the multimode multi-platform radar technology insertion (MP-RTIP) airborne ground surveillance radar sensor to provide all-weather, day or night intelligence to the NATO Alliance. The system also includes an extensive suite of network-centric enabled line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight longrange, wide-band data links.

“With the ability to fly up to 60,000 feet and for more than 30 hours, the NATO AGS system is uniquely suited to support NATO missions worldwide,” said Jim Culmo, Vice President, High-Altitude, Long Endurance Enterprise, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.