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Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 Aerial Refueling Boom Completes Key Flight and Performance Milestones

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

June 30, 2008

thomas

Advanced refueling system nears the end of extensive flight testing and
validation

WASHINGTON, June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The advanced fly-by-wire
aerial refueling boom that Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) will
integrate onto the U.S. Air Force KC-45 Tanker completed its 100th test
flight in June, further demonstrating the system’s maturity and validating
the team’s ability to rapidly modernize the U.S. Air Force’s tanker fleet.

Over the course of its extensive test and validation program, the
Advanced Refueling Boom System (ARBS) developed by EADS has:

— Accumulated over 300 flight hours;
— Logged over 60 separate “wet and dry” contacts with an F-16 receiver
aircraft;
— Successfully completed flight envelope expansion testing; matured and
validated fly-by-wire control laws; and
— Executed proximity, pre-contact and contact flight trials with five
different aircraft — the F-16, F-1, F/A-18, C101 and the A330-based
Royal Australian Air Force Multi-role Tanker Transport.

“The completion of these key milestones clearly demonstrates the
capability of our boom and provides tangible evidence that the KC-45 is
ready now to meet the U.S. Air Force’s refueling needs,” said Paul Meyer,
Northrop Grumman vice president and general manager of Air Mobility
Systems. “Unlike our competitor’s offering that has yet to leave the
drawing board, we have a mature, state-of-the-art boom that has logged over
100 flights, passed fuel in the air, completed over 60 individual contacts
and been validated with multiple aircraft operating with U.S. and allied
air forces.

“The Air Force needs tankers now and had a choice between a yet to be
built tanker concept and boom system against a flight-proven KC-45 to meet
the critical, time-urgent refueling needs of the warfighter. The Air Force
selected the KC-45, the only system that can fully meet these requirements
today,” concluded Meyer.

The ARBS already is integrated on the first Royal Australian Air Force
A330 Multi-role Tanker Transport (MRTT), which is scheduled for delivery by
EADS in 2009, and will soon enter the second phase of its flight testing
and validation. The U.S. Air Force’s selection of Northrop Grumman’s KC-45
is the fifth straight win for the A330-based tanker, having been selected
by the air forces of Australia, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and United
Arab Emirates.

Modern fly-by-wire technology incorporated in the ARBS provides
enhanced controllability and includes an automatic load alleviation system,
which greatly aids the boom operator and the receiver aircraft’s pilot
during refueling operations. The ARBS’ Remote Aerial Refueling Operator
station employs a three-dimensional vision surveillance system for a
high-fidelity view of the boom’s position during the entire air-to-air
refueling process. The 55.7 ft. ARBS has the capacity to offload up to
1,200 gallons of fuel per minute.

About the KC-45

The KC-45 Tanker aircraft will be assembled in Mobile, Ala. —
establishing Mobile as the new cornerstone of the Southern Aerospace
Corridor. The program will employ 48,000 American workers at 230 U.S.
companies in 49 states; and will be built by a world-class industrial team
led by Northrop Grumman, and includes EADS North America, General Electric
Aviation and Sargent Fletcher.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company
whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products and solutions
in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to
government and commercial customers worldwide.

SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation

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