Northrop Grumman Begins Full Rate Production of Link-16 for the H-1 Fleet

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Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a $65 million contract by the U.S. Navy to execute the full rate production of Link-16 for the U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft, which will involve the integration of data link hardware across the fleet.

Link-16 will give the AH-1Z and UH-1Y the ability to share data and communications securely with other aircraft and users of military networks.

“As lead technology integrator for H-1 Avionics, we are expanding our long-standing partnership with the Marine Corps to modernize electronic systems across the fleet through an open systems architecture approach,” said Lindsay McEwen, vice president, navigation, targeting and survivability, Northrop Grumman. “Link-16 full rate production is the starting point.”

Link-16 is a secure data link that allows H-1 crews to share data and communications with other aircraft and users on military networks. This capability is a critical mission enabler as the Department of Defense moves to Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

Northrop Grumman’s mission systems solution for the H-1 fleet is trusted and combat-proven, with more than 450,000 total flight hours. The innovative processes, capabilities and open architecture developed for the H-1 fleet are directly applicable to other platforms and could be utilized in future aircraft development programs such as NAVAIR Vertical Take Off and Landing Family of Systems (VTOL FoS), MUX, and others.

Northrop Grumman is a technology company, focused on global security and human discovery. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with capabilities they need to connect, advance and protect the U.S. and its allies. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 90,000 employees define possible every day.