NGC's BAMS Win May Spur High Export Sales

(Newtown, Conn., April 23, 2008) -- In a huge win, the U.S. Navy has selected Northrop Grumman as its contractor for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) program. Northrop Grumman defeated rival bids from Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

"This is a big win for Northrop Grumman," said Larry Dickerson, Unmanned Systems Analyst for Forecast International. Northrop Grumman offered the RQ-4N, a marinized version of the Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle. Lockheed Martin and General Atomics were bidding the Mariner, a version of the latter's Predator UAV, while Boeing and General Dynamics offered an unmanned version of the Gulfstream G550 executive aircraft.

"The U.S. Air Force is already procuring the Global Hawk, but the Navy buy will support outyear production," Dickerson said.

The BAMS UAV will provide the U.S. Navy with a persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system. This UAV will protect the U.S. fleet and provide a capability to detect, track, classify, and identify maritime and littoral targets. The Global Hawk will serve as an adjunct to the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, the designated replacement for the P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

The 89-month BAMS contract is worth $1.16 billion and covers the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. Through 2013, the Navy will spend $2.3 billion on BAMS development and $780 million for low-rate initial production (LRIP) units. The production phase of the BAMS program could be worth another $3+ billion. Estimates vary, but the U.S. Navy may purchase 48-68 unmanned aircraft.

"Winning BAMS could also stimulate purchases by foreign navies," said Dickerson. "Australia is closely monitoring the BAMS competition and has indicated it would favor the system selected as the solution to its own unmanned maritime surveillance needs," he said.

Other potential export customers are South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. "Foreign orders for Global Hawk could generate a further $3 billion in production revenues for Northrop Grumman," said Dickerson.

Northrop Grumman plans to deliver the first RQ-4N to the U.S. Navy in 2011. Initial Operational Capability will be achieved in 2014 or 2015.

Source : Forecast International Inc.

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