Global Hawk a Sigonella

[MikeAlphaTango]

Come da titolo, vi invito a leggere un interessante articolo apparso oggi su La Stampa:

http://www.lastampa.it/_web/cmstp/tmplR ... =&sezione=

[richelieu]

In realtà non si tratta di una notizia inaspettata .....

DATE: 23/01/09
SOURCE: Flight International

NATO picks Sigonella for Alliance Ground Surveillance base
By Pino Modola

NATO has formally selected Sigonella air base in Sicily as the main operating base for its future Alliance Ground Surveillance capability, which should be delivered from 2012 using Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicles.

Italian defence minister Ignazio La Russa says no opposition emerged to the Sigonella proposal from NATO members ahead of a 16 January deadline to select the site for the main ground infrastructure and aircraft for the AGS system.

NATO's core AGS system will include a fleet of eight Global Hawks equipped with US-sourced multi-platform radar technology insertion programme sensors, with Sigonella expected to host 800 alliance personnel linked to the project.

The site's location in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea will enable it to manage operations over all of Europe, the Middle East and beyond. Germany, which is separately acquiring RQ-4-based Eurohawk UAVs for electronic intelligence duties, and Turkey had also offered facilities to host the AGS infrastructure.

Italy will pay €150 million ($195 million) as its share of the AGS programme's projected €1.56 billion cost. NATO is awaiting project launch, pending the signature of a multinational memorandum of understanding.

..... e, più recentemente .....

Fonte: Ares (A Defense Technology Blog)

Global Hawk Gets New Nests

Posted by Amy Butler at 9/16/2010 5:25 AM CDT

The first Global Hawk landed this week at NAS Sigonella, Italy, and Guam also recently got its first aircraft. A ceremony next week will mark the Guam arrival, but Italian officials opted for a lower profile welcome there.

Both are RQ-4B Block 30Is. They are outfitted to collect imagery with the Raytheon Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite but don't yet have the Northrop Grumman Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload.

This is an important step forward for the program, says Gen. William Fraser, who oversees Air Combat Command. He also said ongoing ops of the two Block 10 USAF Global Hawks supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are strong. Two more Global Hawk Block 20s, outfitted with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node payload will be operating shortly there as well.

Despite this progress, the new Block 30s aren't likely to begin operations soon, though Fraser says he's expecting "pressure" to start.

The issue is the system isn't fully tested yet. Delays in building the larger B model as well as slips in sensor development have pushed initial operational test and evaluation back (IOT&E). It is slated to start this month with an information assurance exercise, says George Guerra, Northrop Grumman's top program executive. IOT&E flight testing will continue through November, and a report is expected to rule on the systems' utility and suitability about three months later.

This IOT&E phase will wring out the Block 30 imint and sigint capabilities and success is required for the Air Force to begin defunding and retiring the U-2. Global Hawk was first eyed as an augmentation and later a replacement for the U-2, but only once it proves multi-int capabilities.

Meanwhile, activity continues on the Block 40 program; this version will carry the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) sensor for ground surveillance. The first production MP-RTIP has flown on the high-flying Proteus manned aircraft testbed and will be integrated onto AF-18 -- the first Block 40 -- by the end of the month, Guerra says.

As work on the various blocks moves forward, the program seems stalled in Washington by ongoing criticism of its cost. A "should-cost" report is expected in October. Ashton Carter, Pentagon procurement czar, noted that Global Hawk is costing more than it should during a Sept. 14 speech at the annual Air Force Assn. conference outside Washington.

Guerra says the company has already identified some cost savings measures and is beginning to implement them.

[richelieu]

Arriveranno anche quelli della NATO .....

NATO inks $1.7 billion Global Hawk order .....

The aircraft and their related operating and command and control infrastructure will have their home base at NAS Sigonella in Sicily, alongside other Global Hawks operated by the US Air Force and US Navy.

Fonte ..... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... er-372113/

NATO Signs AGS Contract .....

The Sigonella air base in Sicily will serve as the home for NATO’s Global Hawks.
Full operational capability is due in 2017.

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 459871.xml

Inoltre ..... http://www.difesa.it/Sala_Stampa/rasseg ... dfIndex=71

[richelieu]

Il primo drone MQ-4C Triton è arrivato alla "Naval Air Station Sigonella" …

… msn.com … First MQ-4C Triton drone arrives at Naval Air Station Sigonella …

Anche qui … theaviationist.com … First U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton Deployed To NAS Sigonella …

E qui … c6f.navy.mil … NAS Sigonella Welcomes First MQ-4C Triton …
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