Under this 18-month, cost-plus-incentive fee contract valued at $54.9 million, Northrop Grumman will develop and flight-test the Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload 1C (ASIP-1C) sensor on the MQ-1. The sensor is scheduled to complete factory tests in December, complete flight tests in May 2009, and achieve operational fielding in 2010.

Northrop Grumman will develop a preliminary design for an expanded ASIP-2C version of the sensor to provide a signals intelligence capability for the MQ-9 as part of the contract.

"With this award, we will deliver a new capability that leverages the Air Force's prior investment on the basic ASIP program -- not just in development savings through product reuse but also savings through common production, logistics support, sustainability and sensor upgrades," said Imad Bitar, vice president of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems sector's Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory business unit.

"ASIP is also the foundation for the U. S. Army's Guardrail modernization signals intelligence upgrade. We see significant savings and risk reduction when common sensor capabilities are fielded on different operational platforms."

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