Cassidian, the defence and security division of EADS (EDF, EPA, MSX: EAD) and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) , together achieved a major milestone today with the first full system test flight of the EURO HAWK® unmanned aircraft system (UAS) equipped with the signals intelligence (SIGINT) advanced sensors for detection of radar and communication emitters.

The EURO HAWK® took off at 10:36 a.m. (Central European Time) from Manching Air Base and climbed a ceiling of more than 15.000 meters within military controlled airspace, far above and in safe distance from civilian air traffic. After 6 hours aloft, the aircraft landed safely back at Manching Air Base at 4:38 p.m. (CET). “This successful flight demonstrates the EURO HAWK® program’s systems integration capabilities and cutting-edge technologies. The Cassidian-developed SIGINT sensor suite, conforming to the German Bundeswehr´s requirements, showed excellent performance within the perfect interplay of the overall system,” said Bernhard Gerwert, chief executive officer of Cassidian. “We therefore are proud to prove with these test flights the new EURO HAWK’s mission capability of strategic SIGINT intelligence for the protection and security of the German armed forces.”

The EURO HAWK® system previously completed extensive ground testing at Manching Air Base, receiving final approval to flight test the functionalities of the integrated SIGINT payload from the German Airworthiness Authority.

“Today’s SIGINT sensor flight marks the start of the critical flight test phase of the EURO HAWK® payload for the German Bundeswehr,” said Tom Vice, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems. “EURO HAWK® represents many significant firsts for Northrop Grumman. Not only is it our first trans-Atlantic cooperation with Germany and Cassidian, but it is also the first international version of the RQ-4 Global Hawk produced by the company and the first high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) SIGINT UAS in Europe.”

Based on the RQ-4B Global Hawk HALE UAS, the EURO HAWK® system includes a ground station consisting of a mission control and launch and recovery elements provided by Northrop Grumman. It is equipped with a new SIGINT mission system developed by Cassidian, providing standoff capability to detect electronic and communications emitters. The SIGINT ground station, which receives and analyzes the data from EURO HAWK® as part of an integrated system solution, is also supplied by Cassidian.

“The EURO HAWK® success story continues to unfold and will enable Germany to independently conduct round-the-clock surveillance and reconnaissance,” said Neset Tükenmez, chief executive officer for the EuroHawk GmbH. “With this first sensor flight, the EURO HAWK® effectively demonstrated its system capability for safe operation within German air space.”

With a wingspan larger than most commercial airliners, endurance of more than 30 hours and a maximum altitude of approximately 60,000 feet, EURO HAWK® is an interoperable, modular and cost-effective replacement to the fleet of manned Breguet Atlantic aircraft which was in service since 1972 and retired in 2010.

Source and photo: EADS