![]() The UAS can attain a maximum speed of 310kt (575km/h) and fly at a maximum altitude of 60,000ft (18,288m). The powerplant used in the remotely piloted aircraft features Rolls-Royce North America’s AE 3007H turbofan engine, which has a fuel capacity of 17,300lb (7,847kg) and provides a maximum thrust of 7,600lb. The unmanned aircraft features a ground surveillance radar developed under the USAF’s multi-platform radar technology insertion programme (MP-RTIP), a radar systems improvement effort led by Northrop Grumman.Īn extensive suite of long-range, wideband data links is also fitted for line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communications between ground and air segments. The RQ-4D Phoenix provides a range of 8,700nm (16,113km). The maximum take-off weight of the aircraft is 32,250lb (14,628kg) while the maximum payload carrying capacity is 3,000lb (1,360kg). The modifications were executed to meet the specific requirements of the NATO AGS Force. The RQ-4D is a modified version of the US Air Force’s (USAF) RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk. The contract involves sales to NATO under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and is expected to be completed by September 2023. The contractual scope also includes integrated mission management computer maintenance and repair. ![]() The handover of the AGS system to the NATO AGS Force was started in November 2020 and completed in March 2022.įollowing the handover, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) assumed responsibility for the programme management and through-life support.Ī $13m contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman in September 2022 to develop, implement and test radar technology insertion programme (RTIP) sensors for NATO at the Sigonella base. The RQ-4D Phoenix achieved initial operating capability in February 2021. NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance Management Organization (NAGSMO) officially transferred the ownership and responsibilities of the AGS programme’s second mission operations support element to AGS Support Partnership Committee (SPC) in January 2021. The fifth and final AGS aircraft landed in Sigonella in November 2020. The fourth and fifth landed in July 2020. The first RQ-4D aircraft landed in Sigonella, Italy, in November 2019, followed by the second in December 2019. The contractual scope includes the supply of spare parts and the provision of sustainment services for mobile general ground station (MGGS) units. NAGSMA awarded a framework contract to Airbus to provide initial in-service support services for the project in January 2019. The first live ground test of the RQ-4D Phoenix aircraft was carried out in September 2015. The fuselage of the first aircraft was completed at Northrop Grumman’s Moss Point facility in July 2.14 in Mississippi, US, while the second aircraft’s fuselage was completed in November 2014. ![]() The programme involves 15 NATO nations, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, Luxembourg, Norway, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the US. NATO nations signed a contract to procure the AGS system at the NATO summit in Chicago, US, in May 2012. NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Management Agency (NAGSMA) and Northrop Grumman Integrated System Sector International (NGISSII) signed the authorisation to proceed (ATP) for the AGS core contract in March 2012.
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