Northrop Grumman Review Magazine Online is a series of articles that focus on the missions and business activities of our military, civil and commercial customers, showing how Northrop Grumman products and services support these endeavors. The most recent article is on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). We hope you will find these articles interesting – and that you will share with us any comments you may have about them. Please address e-mails to brooker.thro@ngc.com.
The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is a key component of NASA’s effort to study the moon as a potential base for future planetary exploration. In 2006, a Northrop Grumman-NASA Ames Research Center team won a contract for the LCROSS mission in a highly competitive contest. The spacecraft is being built by the company’s Space Technology Advanced Concepts organization, which specializes in customer projects that require a rapid turnaround. Northrop Grumman expects to deliver the spacecraft for launch in 26 months from the program start date, or in less than half the time of a typical spacecraft development program. More
Archived Issues
The KC-X tanker replacement program is the Air Force’s number one acquisition priority. The service has released the final request for proposals (RFP), competitors have submitted their proposals, and the winning team will be selected later in the year. The contract calls for building approximately 179 new tankers, which represents about one-third of the new aerial refueling fleet that the Air Force envisions. Delivery of the first new tanker is expected to occur about 36 months after the contract award. More
Health Information Networks. Federal and state governments, employers, healthcare payers, and many public- and private-sector providers have recognized that electronic health information is instrumental to achieving higher quality and more cost-effective healthcare. In the past, it has been the federal government that has taken the lead in implementing the systems that collect, manage, and exchange electronic information – whether data on individual patients to aid physicians at the point of care, or on populations to monitor the nation’s health. More
For 50 years, land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) have been part of America’s primary strategic deterrence capability, the nuclear-armed Triad that also includes submarine-launched ballistic missiles and long range heavy bombers. The land-based ICBMs are managed under the U.S. Air Force's ICBM Prime Integration Contract (IPIC), awarded in 1997 for 15 years to an industry team led by Northrop Grumman Corporation. The team is currently carrying out a major modernization of the land-based ICBM system to ensure its readiness for meeting Air Force mission requirements. More
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) C-MANPADS (Counter-Man Portable Air Defense System) Program seeks means of protecting commercial aircraft from attacks by terrorists armed with anti-aircraft shoulder-fired missiles. DHS launched its C-MANPADS initiative in January 2004, tasking several defense industry contractors, including Northrop Grumman Corporation, with adapting existing military missile-defense technology for this protective role in commercial aviation. Northrop Grumman’s entry in C-MANPADS is Guardian™, a countermeasures system that uses laser jamming technology to disrupt guidance signals of incoming missiles. The system has successfully undergone two initial testing phases of the DHS program and is now being tested in regular commercial cargo flights. More
The United States Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) Program. Born from the former Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program, the Navy UCAS program will develop a strike fighter-sized unmanned air system that can carry out surveillance and precision strike missions. Under a competitively awarded August 2007 contract, Northrop Grumman Corporation will build two prototype air vehicles to demonstrate that such an unmanned aircraft can be effectively and safely integrated into aircraft carrier-based launch and recovery operations. Success in the demonstration program will set the stage for a potential full scale UCAS development effort in support of the Naval Aviation Master Plan, which includes provisions for the introduction of a Navy UCAS in the 2018 timeframe. More
The United States Navy’s Virginia-class attack submarine program. Using expertise developed from building 53 attack submarines (SSNs) over four decades, Northrop Grumman’s Shipbuilding sector is constructing the nation’s newest SSN – the Virginia class, the most advanced submarine in the world. Northrop Grumman is producing the Virginia-class submarines in a teaming arrangement with General Dynamics Electric Boat as part of a U.S. Navy effort to preserve sub-making skills at both shipyards. The team is currently under contract to build the first 10 ships of the Virginia class, which is ultimately expected to total 30 vessels. More
Operations, Maintenance and Logistics Support for Unmanned Aerial Systems. For every 35 cents spent on military acquisition programs, 65 cents go to pay for the massive requirements for infrastructure, personnel, maintenance, repairs, sustainment and upgrades of weapon systems. War expenditures and urgent procurement needs have made it vital for the military to manage this “tail” of its activities efficiently and cost-effectively. The U.S. Department of Defense is taking steps to do this in part by entrusting contractors with life cycle management or even ownership of assets; and by reducing depot or other organic capability while outsourcing overhaul, upgrades or logistics support to private industry. More
Review Magazine Archives
To examine an archived copy of Review Magazine, click on the title below.
The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is a key component of NASA’s effort to study the moon as a potential base for future planetary exploration. In 2006, a Northrop Grumman-NASA Ames Research Center team won a contract for the LCROSS mission in a highly competitive contest. The spacecraft is being built by the company’s Space Technology Advanced Concepts organization, which specializes in customer projects that require a rapid turnaround. Northrop Grumman expects to deliver the spacecraft for launch in 26 months from the program start date, or in less than half the time of a typical spacecraft development program. 
