Nick Chaffey

Leonardo and Northrop Grumman Corporation (Northrop Grumman) have announced their intention to jointly pursue opportunities in the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) domain. Drawing on Leonardo’s expertise in rotorcraft and Northrop Grumman’s capabilities in advanced aeronautics, and next-generation autonomous uncrewed aerial systems, the companies will focus on jointly addressing global opportunities in the VTOL UAS market. Leonardo - Northrop Grumman partnership The companies will consider collaboration on air vehicle design, system architectures, payload optimization, and integration within next-generation battlespace architectures, with a focus on customer requirements, and mission-based Concepts of Operations. The agreement is the latest development in a successful long-term partnership between Northrop Grumman and Leonardo. The companies work closely together on airborne platform protection. This collaboration goes back to 1995 when the team jointly developed the AN/AAQ-24(V) Nemesis DIRCM for the US Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defense. Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) program The companies are working to deliver the United States Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) program Currently, the companies are working to deliver the United States Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) program, which will protect hundreds of aircraft. Northrop Grumman Australia and Leonardo Australia have teamed to compete to provide a Maritime Uncrewed Aerial System (MUAS) to the Royal Australian Navy, under the SEA129 Phase 5 program, using the Leonardo AWHero and elements of Northrop Grumman’s advanced battlespace architecture system, as the basis of a next-generation deployable intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (ISR&T) capability. Co-developing VTOL UAS technologies Gian Piero Cutillo, the Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters, said “We see this partnership as a great opportunity to leverage the synergies between Leonardo and Northrop Grumman, in the sphere of VTOL and UAS technologies. This collaboration comes at a time when we see emerging military and civil requirements worldwide in the uncrewed domain. This partnership will enable a strong and concerted approach to existing, as well as next-generation VTOL UAS technologies, from two leading global aerospace engineering companies.” Nick Chaffey, Chief Executive - UK, Europe, and the Middle East, at Northrop Grumman, said “Northrop Grumman has decades of experience and unmatched expertise in developing and delivering uncrewed, and autonomous aerial systems, including the RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-8C Fire Scout, Firebird, a UAS that has the capability to be flown manned, and the pioneering X-47B aircraft. There are many possibilities that our collaboration with Leonardo will deliver for customers worldwide, as they look to solve new challenges in a complex, unpredictable threat environment.” Remotely piloted systems and technologies expert Leonardo has developed remotely piloted systems and technologies across all domains, with significant investment in platforms, sensors, communications, control systems, in addition to counter-drone capabilities and technologies for uncrewed systems’ traffic management, and air traffic control. Leonardo is the only company in Europe that is able to provide complete uncrewed solutions, including the platform, sensors, mission system and ground control stations. ‘Drones as a service’ model The company also offers a ‘Drones as a service’ model to customers, owning and operating its own fleets of UAS The company also offers a ‘Drones as a service’ model to customers, owning and operating its own fleets of UAS, and providing intelligence and surveillance information directly to the user. The continued development and integration of cutting-edge solutions across all domains of remotely-piloted and autonomous/semi-autonomous systems, and technologies is a key element of Leonardo’s BeTomorrow2030 Strategic Plan. Northrop Grumman-developed autonomous systems Northrop Grumman-developed autonomous systems operate across the globe, with 24+ hour endurance, collecting essential C4ISR data over land and sea, in order to enable rapid and informed decision-making. In addition to developing new aerial systems, such as Project MOSQUITO for the RAF, Northrop Grumman’s Distributed Autonomy/Responsive Control (DA/RC) system is a renowned prototype Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) system. It can command and control a wide range of complex systems across all domains and services. This mature collaborative autonomy software provides decision-making superiority for a manned/unmanned fleet, across a range of environments from permissive to highly contested environments.

At the official launch of CyberCenturion Vll, Nick Chaffey, Chief Executive, UK, Europe and Middle East, Northrop Grumman announced that the 2020/21 focus of the competition will be on encouraging greater diversity in the cybersecurity sector. CyberCenturion VII is open to all secondary school students in the UK, UK Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories and starts in October 2020 with the national finals due to take place in April 2021. CyberCenturion is the UK edition of the global CyberPatriot program, sponsored and led by Northrop Grumman, designed by the U.S. Air Force Association and delivered in the UK in partnership with the Cyber Security Challenge UK. Cybersecurity teams “Our mission at Northrop Grumman is to recruit, develop and retain the most talented employees, and that means having access to the most diverse talent pool to ensure that our cybersecurity teams retain a vigor and dynamism that matches the challenges in our sector,” Chaffey said at the virtual launch. “We believe that continuing to create a work force and a workplace that is diverse and values diversity and fosters inclusion is both the right thing to do and pivotal to delivering innovation. It will take time for CyberCenturion to reach every school in every neighborhood, but we are asking for your support to achieve this important aim.” Crack cyber crime If COVID-19 restrictions prevent a face-to-face final in 2021, the final will take place as a virtual event CyberCenturion is a UK-wide competition which gives secondary school pupils the opportunity to develop and bring a myriad of skills into play to crack cyber crime. The multi-round event, for which there is no fee to participate, culminates in a national final for the highest scoring teams. If COVID-19 restrictions prevent a face-to-face final in 2021, in line with qualifying rounds, the final will take place as a virtual event. CyberCenturion VII is adopting the theme of space, to highlight the unlimited opportunity that young people from all backgrounds in cybersecurity have, linked to the pioneering work Northrop Grumman does in space. This ranges from the historic Lunar Module, the vehicle that landed men on the moon, to the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) and James Webb Space Telescope. Inspirational people Nitya Sri Adapala is a past winner of CyberCenturion: “It opened my eyes and those of my teammates to a whole world of inspirational people that we could talk to and learn from. As a direct result of entering CyberCenturion, the enrollment onto Computer Sciences at our school went from 3 people to 18 - it’s been fantastic and I do feel proud of myself and my teammates for encouraging girls into the industry.”

Northrop Grumman Corporation will demonstrate multi-domain capabilities that support the defense and security of the U.K., Europe and allies at the 20th Defense & Security Equipment International (DSEI) event on September 10-13 2019. Autonomous defense systems The Northrop Grumman stand (S5-200) will feature interactive demonstrations of next generation mission and aerospace systems, maritime situational awareness and integrated air and missile defense. Some of the advanced systems on display include the Fire Scout, Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) and Bushmaster Chain Gun, showcasing the company’s long standing expertise in autonomous systems and defense solutions. “Northrop Grumman offers innovative capabilities and solutions to our customers around the globe, and here in the U.K. and Europe we continue to invest and build key industrial partnerships and capabilities, as we deepen our supply chain," said Nick Chaffey, chief executive, Northrop Grumman U.K. and Europe. "We are pleased to showcase our game-changing solutions at DSEI, in particular our expanded portfolio in space, logistics and advanced weapons.” Innovative security solutions company Northrop Grumman operates from locations across the U.K. and Europe as well as the U.S., providing solutions and whole life support. It is a global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide.