Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a low-rate initial production contract from the U.S. Navy to deliver FlightPro ™ Gen III mission computers in support of AH-1Z and UH-1Y Marine Corps helicopters.
Under the $10.6 million contract, Northrop Grumman will provide mission computers for H-1 helicopter flight tests, system integration laboratories and training.
The lightweight FlightPro ™ mission computer is renowned for integrating advanced mission, weapons and video processing capabilities into a conduction-cooled, high-performance airborne computer. The latest model, FlightPro ™ Gen III, features the newest computing technology in multiple partitioned, 8-core PowerPC ™-based processors. The new mission computer offers increased computing resources and an extended lifetime due to long-term product support from suppliers.
Northrop Grumman’s FlightPro ™ mission computer has proven its high performance and adaptability on U.S. Marine Corps and Army platforms. The Marine Corps is using FlightPro ™ Gen II mission computers on the UH‑1Y Venom and AH‑1Z Viper platforms and plans to incorporate Gen III computers in future aircraft. Additionally, the FlightPro ™ Gen III mission computer is the foundation of Northrop Grumman’s proposed digital cockpit upgrade for the Army’s H-60L Black Hawk program.
[mappress] Press Release, April 28, 2014; Image: Northrop Grumman