WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Sept. 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) for the fabrication, testing and delivery of AN/UPX-24(V) interrogator sets.
Under the nearly $11.5 million follow-on production contract, Northrop Grumman will provide five AN/UPX-24(V) identification friend or foe (IFF) processor sets in an open-architecture configuration to enhance the situational awareness and threat identification capabilities of naval ships.
As a core component of the AN/UPX-29(V) shipboard interrogator system, the AN/UPX-24(V) interrogator set is a major subsystem that provides a centralized identification system for ships by determining whether aircraft or ships equipped with IFF transponders are friendly or unknown forces.
“This contract builds upon the strong relationship that Northrop Grumman has built with NAVAIR through many years of providing the AN/UPX-24(V),” said Ike Song, vice president of situational awareness systems at Northrop Grumman. “These new sets will augment the Navy’s defenses, providing greater protection for our men and women at sea.”
The AN/UPX-24(V) quickly and accurately identifies friendly aircraft, helping to prevent fratricide. The system provides target data to the ship’s command, control, communications, computer and intelligence system, and generates interrogation commands in response to requests for priority target identification. The AN/UPX-24(V) accepts transponder replies and provides target reports to a shipboard weapon system. Each AN/UPX-24(V) consists of a control monitor, a central processor-controller and up to 22 control indicators.
Northrop Grumman has supplied the AN/UPX-24(V) system for Navy missile cruisers, destroyers, amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers since 1979. Under the new contract, production system deliveries for Aegis combat ships are expected in the first quarter of 2014.
