INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
WEBSITEnorthropgrumman.com/europeAndrew Tyler
Chief Executive, Northrop Grumman Europe
IN WHAT WAY DOES
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
PARTNER WITH THE RAF?
We spend a lot of time in partnership
with the RAF thinking about their future
missions, how they are going to change
with the threat environment, and the sort
of technologies and capabilities that might
be relevant to help them fulfil their needs.
An excellent example of this is the work
that we have been doing with the RAF
on F-35 interoperability. The concept of
the F-35 was for a networked aircraft, and
so we are working with the RAF to help
think through what this actually means.
We have already enjoyed some
encouraging successes. Last year, for
example, we completed the two-week
Babel Fish III trial as part of Exercise High
Rider in the United States. During the
trial, a Northrop Grumman Airborne
Communications Gateway connected
the fifth-generation F-35B, which
communicates using the stealthy
Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL),
and the fourth-generation Typhoon,
by translating MADL messages to Link 16
format. This was the first time non-US fifth-
and fourth-generation aircraft had shared
MADL-delivered data, and is an important
demonstration of interoperability as the UK
moves closer to initial operating capability
of its F-35 Lightning Force in late 2018.WHAT IS NORTHROP
GRUMMAN’S OVERALL
CONTRIBUTION TO THE F-35
LIGHTNING PROGRAMME?
Our role covers two main areas. The
first area is the airframe where we
provide the centre fuselage, and the
second is the provision of what I call
the F-35’s “eyes, ears and mouth”.
The “eyes” are provided via the
AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System
(DAS). The “ears” are the AN/APG-81
radar. And then there is the “mouth”- the Communications, Navigation
and Identification (CNI) system,
which uses the MADL. In terms of
maximising every ounce of value from
the aircraft, and making the F-35 that
networked ‘node’ in the battlespace, the
communications are absolutely critical.HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THE
SELECTION OF THE UK AS
THE F-35 COMPONENT
MAINTENANCE, REPAIR,
OVERHAUL & UPGRADE
(MRO&U) HUB FOR EUROPE?
The F-35 support solution is now becoming
the dominant focus of attention. There are
more than 200 F-35 Lightnings flying, the
US Marine Corps has already declared
an Initial Operating Capability, and F-35
squadrons will start deploying onto
the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier,
HMS Queen Elizabeth, next year. There is
momentum building now, and the ramp
up of operational F-35s is going to be
significant in the next few years. Making
sure that we can adequately support
them has become a major focus.WHAT IS NORTHROP
GRUMMAN’S ROLE IN THIS
MRO&U HUB?
As an original equipment manufacturer,
we have got a lot of kit on the aircraft
and we will be very heavily involved in
maintaining it, but the most exciting thing
about this particular opportunity is that
Northrop Grumman is one of the three
management partners for the MRO&U
hub (with BAE Systems and the Defence
Electronics and Components Agency),
and so we will be getting involved right
across the spectrum of components,
rather than just Northrop Grumman-
produced systems. In the initial tier 1
phase, the work will involve sustainment
of F-35 systems, including electronic and
electrical components, as well as fuel,
mechanical and hydraulic systems.COLLABORATION ACROSS THE
SPECTRUM OF TECHNOLOGY
As a principal partner for F-35, Northrop
Grumman not only provides the central
fuselage, but also much of the aircraft’s
situational awareness, and communications
and battlespace networking capability