Thursday, July 23, 2009

Northrop Grumman Performs Successful SABR Fit-Check Aboard F-16 Fighter At Edwards Air Force Base

Northrop Grumman Performs Successful SABR Fit-Check Aboard F-16 Fighter At Edwards Air Force Base

BALTIMORE – July 23, 2009 – Northrop Grumman Corporation's
(NYSE:NOC) newest active electronically scanned array (AESA) fighter
sensor, the Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), has been successfully
installed on a U.S. Air Force F-16 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

In November, SABR began a series of flight demonstrations
aboard the company's test aircraft, successfully detecting and
displaying multiple aerial targets and generating high resolution
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) ground maps.

"The fit-check completed on June 29, is another important
milestone leading up to a planned F-16 flight demonstration later this
year," said Arlene Camp, director of Advanced F-16 Radar Programs at
Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems Division. "Installation took less
than five hours and assessed SABR's design goals to integrate
seamlessly within existing F-16 Block 50/52 physical constraints for
interface to aircraft power, cooling, and avionics."

The aircraft was returned to original configuration after the
installation evaluation.

"Northrop Grumman is the sole provider of radars for the F-16
and for over 30 years has continually improved the F-16 radar's
performance and reliability. SABR is Northrop Grumman's latest
investment towards enhancing and sustaining the F-16's combat
capability for decades to come," added Camp.

Although designed specifically for the F-16, SABR is scalable
and adaptable to other platforms and missions. Compared to the
mechanically-scanned array radars it is designed to replace, SABR will
provide increased performance, multi-functionality and greater
reliability. SABR's greater detection and tracking range,
high-resolution SAR maps, and interleaved mode operations will provide
pilots improved situational awareness and all-environment precision
strike capability.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security
company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products,
and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems,
shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial
customers worldwide.

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