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Date: February 22, 2001
Source: PRNewswire
Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk System Wins 2000 Collier Trophy
Dallas, TX. The U.S. Air Force's Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), has been named the winner of the Robert J. Collier Trophy. The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) yesterday announced the award, which honors Global Hawk as the top aeronautical achievement of 2000. (Photo)
The NAA recognized the Global Hawk team, which includes prime contractor Northrop Grumman and team members Rolls-Royce, Raytheon Company, L-3 Communications, the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, for developing, testing and operating the UAV. Global Hawk is the first fully autonomous, long-range, high-altitude, surveillance and reconnaissance UAV in the world. In addition, numerous other suppliers on the Global Hawk team contributed to this achievement including Aurora Flight Sciences, Litton Industries, Honeywell and Vista Controls. "It is a great honor to have the NAA select Global Hawk as the 2000 Collier Trophy winner. The entire Global Hawk team, led by our Unmanned Systems Integrated Product Team at the Ryan Aeronautical Center, contributed to the success that this trophy recognizes," said Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., Northrop Grumman corporate vice president and president, Integrated Systems Sector (ISS). "This advanced system has already demonstrated its military worth by providing critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the war-fighting community during more than a year of joint deployment exercises. Its value for land-sea operations and its potential to assist civilian agencies in counter-drug and contraband interdiction operations are equally impressive."
The Collier Trophy, established in 1911, is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics and astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." On permanent display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the Collier Trophy is considered the highest aeronautical honor in America. The award will be presented to the Global Hawk team by the president of the NAA at a dinner on May 8 sponsored by the National Aviation Club in Washington, D.C.
Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system designed to provide high-resolution, near real-time imagery of large geographic areas. Flying at extremely high altitudes, the 44-foot long Global Hawk can survey large areas with pinpoint accuracy, to give military decision-makers the most current information about enemy resources and personnel. Its cloud-penetrating, synthetic aperture radar/ground moving target indicator, electro-optical and infrared sensors can image an area the size of Illinois (40,000 square miles) in just 24 hours.
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