Jay Clemens
Northrop Grumman has flown a legacy U.S. Air Force sensor for the first time on a company-built RQ-4 Global Hawk drone as part of efforts to demonstrate sensors that are previously unavailable to the unmanned aerial vehicle.
The Optical Bar Camera test marks the second of three planned demonstrations of the technology, Northrop said Wednesday.
The broad-area sensor is designed to transmit panoramic and unalterable imagery to warfighters, allies and governments.
“The successful flight of the Optical Bar Camera is another significant step in the evolution of Global Hawk,†said Mick Jaggers, vice president and program manager for Northrop’s Global Hawk program.
The company also flew a SYERS-2 data collection sensor in February and plans to test an MS-177 multi-spectral sensor in late 2016.
