MANCHING, Germany, 22 July 2011. A Euro Hawk
high-altitude long-endurance (
HALE)
unmanned aircraft system (
UAS), based on the RQ-4 Global Hawk from Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), took off 20 July 20 at 11:50 Central European Summer Time) from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and landed 21 July at 10:06 Central European Summer Time at Manching Air Base, Germany. Following this achievement, a new SIGINT mission system developed by EADS Deutschland GmbH (Cassidian) will be integrated into the Euro Hawk in Manching, Germany.
"Today's arrival of the Euro Hawk on German soil marks a significant step in delivering this highly capable and unique system to the Bundeswehr," says Nicolas Chamussy, head of UAVs at Cassidian Air Systems and member of the EuroHawk GmbH board of directors. "Our trans-Atlantic partnership with Northrop Grumman has helped the entire team achieve this outstanding milestone, which also reinforces Cassidian's role as a leader for complex UAS solutions in Europe."
The first Euro Hawk demonstrator is scheduled for deliver to the Bundeswehr in mid-2012, with four additional systems tentatively scheduled between 2015 and 2017.
"Soon, the Bundeswehr will be able to independently cover their needs for SIGINT data collection and analysis, contributing to NATO, European Union, and United Nations operations," predicts Neset Tukenmez, chief executive officer at EuroHawk GmbH.
Euro Hawk boasts a wingspan larger than most commercial airliners, endurance of 30 hours, and a maximum altitude of more than 60,000 feet.
EuroHawk GmbH is a 50-50 joint venture of Northrop Grumman and EADS Deutschland GmbH (Cassidian).
