Northrop Grumman [NOC] in February completed a successful exchange of radar data during a flight test involving the Air Force’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS, JSTARS) and the RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), according to a company statement.
The exchange is the first collaborative effort to stream ground moving target radar data from a Global Hawk Block 40 to a Joint STARS aircraft. Information can then be relayed from Joint STARS to ground forces. The flight successfully demonstrated the interoperability of both platforms to potentially improve and expand surveillance capabilities for deployed forces.
Northrop Grumman spokesman Bryce McDevitt said Friday there are no plans for additional interoperability tests between Joint STARS and the Global Hawk Block 40 or any other aircraft.
Joint STARS is an airborne battle management and command and control (C2) platform that conducts ground surveillance of fixed and moving ground targets to develop an understanding of the enemy situation and support location, tracking, targeting and attack operations. Northrop Grumman last May successfully flight tested Joint STARS with a new JT-8D propulsion system developed by Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. [UTX] (Defense Daily, May 24).