Northrop Grumman has launched Firebird, an advanced intelligence-gathering aircraft system.
The Firebird comes with a large bay for internal payload and is able to simultaneously manage multiple communications payloads as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) via a common interface. Northrop Grumman has assigned the job of designing, building and testing the aircraft to Scaled Composites.
The Vice President and General Manager of Northrop Aerospace Systems, Paul Meyer stated that the gathering capability of the aircraft if the result of unmatched combination of Northrop and Scaled Composites expertise. He regarded the Firebird as a cost-effective solution for numerous ISR missions.
Rick Crooks, Firebird’s Program Manager, explained that the aircraft’s data gathering ability was increased by including sensors that complement each other’s functions. The Firebird has been designed in such a way that it can be flown as a manned as well as an unmanned aircraft. Crooks added that users in the army can easily read the intelligence data from the Firebird from the single tool and make quick decisions.
Northrop is targeting to perform an operational demonstration of the Firebird from May 23 to 3 June 2011.
Source: http://www.northropgrumman.com