Richardcyoung.com

The Online Home of Author and Investor, Dick Young

  • Home
  • How We Are Different
  • About Us
    • Foundation Principles
    • Contributors
  • Investing
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
  • Your Survival Guy
  • The Great Reset
  • COVID-19
  • My Rifles
  • Dividends and Compounding
  • Your Security
  • The Swiss Way
  • Dick Young
  • Debbie Young
  • Key West
  • Paris
  • Dick’s R&B Top 100
  • Liberty & Freedom Map
  • Bank Credit & Money
  • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
  • NNT & Cholesterol
  • Work to Make Money/Invest to Save Money
  • Your Health
  • Ron Paul
  • US Treasury Yield Curve: My Favorite Investor Tool

Firebird: Persistent Multiple Intelligence Gathering Air System

May 11, 2011 By The Editors

Source: Northrup Grumman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFsFMYoUju8 SAN DIEGO, May 9, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Military users will be able to get real-time high-definition video, view infrared imagery, use radar and even listen in on communications signals – all at the same time – using a new intelligence-gathering aircraft system unveiled today by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC).

Firebird offers a large internal payload bay and an ability to operate multiple intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and communications payloads simultaneously through a universal interface. The system is designed to be flown as a manned or unmanned aircraft.

As lead for the Firebird program, Northrop Grumman developed the unmanned systems architecture, control and mission systems. The company chose Scaled Composites to design, build and test the aircraft – with first flight occurring just 12 months after the initial concept discussions.

“We’ve harnessed the innovative techniques of Northrop Grumman and Scaled Composites to deliver an unprecedented information-gathering capability,” said Paul Meyer, vice president and general manager of advanced programs and technology for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. “Firebird addresses future budgetary constraints by combining the best of our piloted and unmanned ISR systems into a single solution ready for a variety of ISR missions.”

Firebird’s universal interface is similar to plugging a memory stick into a personal computer that is automatically recognized without needing to load additional software.

“Not only have we increased the number of ISR sensors working simultaneously in an aircraft of this size, but we can also incorporate various sensors that complement each other – greatly enhancing Firebird’s information-gathering value for warfighters,” said Rick Crooks, Northrop Grumman’s Firebird program manager. “Firebird is an adaptable system that makes it highly affordable because of the number of different missions it can accomplish during a single flight. It’s a real game changer.”

From inception, Firebird was designed to be flown as a manned or unmanned aircraft and can be quickly modified for either option.

“Military users will also find it much easier to exploit intelligence data from Firebird because the information is put into a single tool that allows them to easily make decisions,” said Crooks. “The internal payload bay also does away with the need to carry external pods to house sensor payloads that can cause drag and affect how long the aircraft can stay in the air.”

Firebird is set for an operational demonstration in an optionally-piloted configuration from May 23 – June 3, 2011, during Empire Challenge 2011, a military exercise run by U.S. Joint Forces Command.

Scaled Composites, LLC is an aerospace and specialty composites development company located in Mojave, Calif. Founded in 1982 by Burt Rutan, Scaled has broad experience in air vehicle design, analysis and fabrication, and developmental flight tests of air and space vehicles. Please go to www.scaled.com for more information.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

Firebird Specifications
Gross Take-off Weight: 5000lbs (2,268 kg)
Wingspan: 65ft (19.8 m)
Length: 34ft (10.3 m)
Height: 9.7ft (3 m)
Altitude: Up to 30,000 ft (91km)
Maximum Endurance: 24-40 Hours (Configuration Dependent)
Payload Capacity: 1,240 lbs (562 kg) Internal and External
Powerplant: Lycoming TEO-540 or Optional HFE
System Provisions: Sensors-Multiple (Up to four) HDFMV EO/IR, SAR/GMTI/DMTI, WAAS, SIGINT COMINT, Communications Relay and Networking, Muti-Spectral.
Optionally piloted, with multiple wide band Line-of Sight and Beyond-line-of site data links, onboard network attached storage and accessible processing available for sensor use, standards-based interfaces and command protocol.

Related Posts

  • Air Force Chief Scientist Confirms F-35 Will Include Artificial Intelligence
  • Let’s Eliminate Air Travel
  • VIDEO: GPS Jammers Threaten Air Traffic Navigation
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
The Editors
Latest posts by The Editors (see all)
  • SEN RUBIO: China Balloon Was a Message - February 6, 2023
  • TERROR TACTICS: Globalists Use Fear to Demand Compliance - February 3, 2023
  • Are Flights About to Get MORE Expensive? - February 3, 2023

Dick Young’s Must Reads

  • Making America Great Again Is What America Wants
  • Your Odds with Statins: 500 to 1?
  • America’s Colleges Have Become Progressive Liberal Rat Holes
  • Work to Make Money/Invest to Save Money
  • Soros’s Open Society Foundation, Charles Koch Team Up
  • “The Losses are Taking a Toll on Their Health”
  • The Clock is Ticking: You Must Protect Your Family
  • My Battle-Hardened Stock Market Strategy for the Worst of Times
  • CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY: Alabama Becomes 22nd Permitless Carry State
  • 751 “No-Go” Zones in France

Our Most Popular Posts

  • Will Western Tanks Be a Game Changer in Ukraine?
  • Europe Should Protect Itself
  • Warren Miller: If You Don’t Do It This Year, You’ll Be…
  • “I Will Veto Everything They Send Me”
  • US Debt Now Exceeds Annual GDP?
  • How to Fight Wokism Idiocy
  • The Neocon Russia-Hoaxers of Hamilton 68 Must Be Held Accountable
  • Why Don’t These Mayors Seem to Care?
  • What Kind of Life Are You Investing For?
  • SEN. KENNEDY: This Is How to Fix Biden's Border Disaster

Disclosure

RSS Youngresearch.com

  • Your Retirement Life: Adventure Awaits
  • UK Takes Aim at the Cryptocurrency Industry
  • Early Advice from Her Dad on Tipping at Charlie Trotter’s
  • Do You Trust This Rally?
  • Reagan’s America Remembered by Your Survival Guy and More
  • What Happens if the “Fed Put” Is Over for Good?
  • Tom Brady Retires, Again. Should You?
  • What Kind of Life Are You Investing For?
  • Warren Miller: If You Don’t Do It This Year, You’ll Be…
  • Are the Realists Winning the Debate over the Future of EVs?

RSS Yoursurvivalguy.com

  • What Your Survival Guy Invested in Today
  • Your Retirement Life: Adventure Awaits
  • Zumwalt-Class Guided Missile Destroyers to Get Hypersonic Weapons
  • Early Advice from Her Dad on Tipping at Charlie Trotter’s
  • Treasury Bonds Ready to Rock and Roll
  • Survive and Thrive February 2023: 4 Life Changing Words: “You Should Try This”
  • Tom Brady Retires, Again. Should You?
  • Reagan’s America Remembered by Your Survival Guy and More
  • America’s Unprecedented Debt Problem
  • Iran’s Ballistic Missiles Could Give Russia the Edge in Ukraine

Trump Channeled Pat Buchanan to Win GOP Primary

Hang Tight or Hang Alone

What Your Survival Guy Invested in Today

Will Biden Start Wars with Both Russia and China?

Price Controls Won’t Work in Any Country

SEN RUBIO: China Balloon Was a Message

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions | About Us | Dick Young | Archives