Posted by John Keller
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J., 29 Nov. 2009. The Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems facility in Rolling Meadows, Ill., won a $12.6 million U.S. Army contract Nov. 25 for the Next Generation Automatic Test System (NGATS) to provide military test sustainment support to all Army weapon systems.
This flexible test equipment will standardize and reduce the quantity of the Army's automatic test equipment (ATE) to one tester, which will enable Army leaders to decrease their logistics load for ATE systems.
NGATS test and measurement equipment complies with Joint NxTest architecture, and ultimately will replace three existing test platforms: DSESTS, BSTF (V) 3, and BSTF (V) 5.
NGATS increment 1 replaces DSESTS and supports the weapons systems in the heavy brigade combat team (HBCT). Testing for Abrams, Bradley and other military vehicles and systems will be rehosted to NGATS.
Increment 2 replaces BSTF (V) 3 and supports the MLRS, Avenger, Paladin, T- - OW, SINCGARS, Kiowa Warrior, Ground Based Sensor, G/VLLD, and M1A1 (SRUs) systems. Increment 3 replaces BSTF (V) 5 and supports the Kiowa Warrior and Apache.
Northrop Grumman will do the work in Rolling Meadows, Ill., and should be finished by April 2011. Awarding the contract were officials of the Army Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.
For more information contact Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems online at www.es.northropgrumman.com.
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