New STARLite radar for U.S. Army unmanned vehicle application

Date: 28 April, 2008

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Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by the U.S. Army Communication-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command to produce the new multi-function radar for the Extended Range/Multi-Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Radar programme.

Under the terms of the initial US$ 42 million contract with the Command's Robotics and Unmanned Systems Program Management Office, Northrop Grumman will deliver 10 STARLite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)/Ground Moving Target Indication radars to the Army.

"STARLite will provide precision ground maps and indications of moving targets vital to surveillance and protection of forces on the ground," said Dave Shrum, vice president of Weapons and Sensors for Northrop Grumman's Land Forces Division. "STARLite's light weight will allow its installation on armed UAVs alongside optical sensors, giving our warfighters unprecedented situational awareness and target coordination to reduce the 'kill chain' on a wide variety of UAV and manned systems."

Northrop Grumman currently has a wide range of UAV-based surveillance radars in design, testing or production, aimed at providing for the existing and future tactical surveillance needs of the warfighter from the small unit to both the corps and battle group level.