Northrop Grumman Flies Open Mission Systems Architecture on UAS
June 22, 2015 | Northrop GrummanEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully flew a new Open Mission Systems (OMS) architecture on a NASA Global Hawk, demonstrating the ability to rapidly and affordably adapt new capabilities onto unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The new architecture implementation flight took place at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.
This flight confirmed the ability for ground operators to send OMS payload commands and receive OMS subsystem status responses over a Ku SATCOM Beyond-Line-Of-Sight (BLOS) communications link between the unmanned aircraft and an operations center.
A previously developed OMS Critical Abstraction Layer (CAL) was adapted to an OMS Open Computing Environment (OCE) onboard the NASA Global Hawk using a production RQ-4 Global Hawk airborne database computer.
The demonstration illustrates Northrop Grumman's ability to rapidly deploy OMS on production Global Hawk platforms. The architecture paves the way for integration of new payload options for Global Hawk to support mission flexibility and customer needs. In addition to flying on the NASA Global Hawk UAS, the OMS architecture will be adapted and demonstrated in-flight on a manned airborne weapons system later this month.
NASA Global Hawks are preproduction variants of RQ-4 Global Hawks currently in service around the world. With the ability to fly as high as 60,000 feet for over 30 hours, Global Hawks provide a combination of high altitude and long endurance performance capabilities that allow the science community to study scientific and environmental phenomena in-depth. Global Hawk variants have flown more than 150,000 flight hours in support of antiterrorism, antipiracy, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, airborne communications relay and information-sharing missions.
NASA and Northrop Grumman recently renewed a five-year Space Act Agreement that includes operation of the NASA Global Hawk system to conduct scientific experiments as well as technology implementations such as this OMS demonstration.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please click here for more information.
Suggested Items
Reducing Nitrogen Consumption in Convection Soldering with Rehm Thermal Systems' Patented Mechatronic Curtain
03/28/2024 | Rehm Thermal SystemsCurrent developments indicate a need for larger throughput heights due to the trend towards e-mobility, which in turn increases nitrogen consumption for process inertization. Rehm Thermal Systems responds to this issue with an innovative solution: the mechatronic curtain.
CentraTEQ to Showcase Wide Range of Vibration & Environmental Test Systems at Battery Tech Expo 24
03/26/2024 | CentraTEQEnvironmental and vibration test specialists CentraTEQ are excited to be exhibiting at the upcoming Battery Tech Expo, scheduled to take place at Silverstone on April 25, 2024.
SEMI 3D & Systems Summit To Spotlight Trends In Hybrid Bonding, Chiplet Design And Environmental Sustainability
03/26/2024 | SEMILeading experts in 3D integration and systems for semiconductor manufacturing applications will gather at the annual SEMI 3D & Systems Summit, 12-14 June, 2024,
iNEMI/IPC White Paper on Complex Integrated Systems Highlights Future Technology and Manufacturing Ecosystem Needs
03/25/2024 | IPCToday’s system solutions combine more varied functionality, such as digital, analog, optical, micro-mechanical, etc., packed into smaller form factors. As a result, electronics manufacturing has to deliver increasingly complex integration of diverse technologies with system designs that blur the distinction between chip, package, board, and assembly.
Synopsys Announces New AI-Driven EDA, IP and Systems Design Solutions At SNUG Silicon Valley
03/25/2024 | PRNewswireSynopsys, Inc. kicked off its annual flagship Synopsys User Group (SNUG) conference in Silicon Valley at the Santa Clara Convention Center with a keynote presentation by Synopsys president and CEO Sassine Ghazi. Ghazi discussed the unprecedented innovation opportunities and challenges that technology R&D teams face in this era of pervasive intelligence.