Northrop Grumman concludes Anti-Access/Area Denial Missile flight test

News, US December 23, 2021 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. defense company Northrop Grumman Corporation completed the second flight test of its new anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) missile, the firm’s official release stated on December 21.

The test was completed utilizing a company-owned CRJ-700 aircraft as the testbed for the air to surface mission computer and sensors. It demonstrated capabilities that met key objectives for the United States’ Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) program.

“Northrop Grumman invested to actively mature and test its A2/AD missile design, which meets U.S. Air Force requirements for SiAW and other programs. Featuring open architecture interfaces, the Northrop Grumman solution will bridge current requirements while enabling rapid future upgrades to meet changing mission requirements,” the company’s statement read.

Northrop Grumman Defense Systems President Mary Petryszyn said, “As a missile prime, we play a vital role in pioneering the most innovative solutions that increase survivability and lethality against new and emerging adversary threats… Our lean-forward approach enables us to innovate at rapid speeds while reducing cost for our customers.”

According to the company’s official release, the second flight test of the new A2/AD missile demonstrated the mission capability of the missile sensor systems combined with the mission computer. This is the first of a new series of company-funded flight tests which will continue to test the system with more stressful scenarios in preparation for the missile launch in 2022.

Northrop Grumman vice president and general manager of weapon systems, Dan Olson said, “We have taken significant steps to mature our missile design, providing capabilities for the U.S. Air Force SiAW program and other programs.”

“Leveraging our digital engineering expertise to accelerate timelines, our first complete missile is planned to be built and ready for launch in 2022,” Olson added.

“The Northrop Grumman A2/AD solution leverages lessons learned on the Navy’s AARGM-ER, engineering manufacturing and development, low-rate initial production and integration work on the F-35 aircraft. The Northrop Grumman A2/AD missile is capable of being integrated on a variety of aircraft,” the defense firm’s statement read.