FREIBURG, Germany, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. has ordered components for the Eurofighter Typhoon from Northrop Grumman.
Northrop said the order is for 88 inertial measurement units for Tranche 3A of the Typhoon.
The IMUs, which provide motion data for the aircraft, will be built by the company's German navigation systems subsidiary, Northrop Grumman LITEF, which also provided IMUs for Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 of the aircraft.
"Northrop Grumman's IMU has consistently demonstrated outstanding performance in flight," said Norbert Sandner, director of marketing and sales for Northrop Grumman LITEF. "The combination of high accuracy, high reliability, and state-of-the-art technology make our airborne flight control sensor system the ideal choice for this very dynamic aircraft environment."
Northrop said the IMUs, developed as part of the flight control system of the Eurofighter Tycoon, is the aircraft's only sensor to measures the motion of the aircraft and continuously provides motion data to the flight control computer to drive the control systems and actuators.
"This closed control loop stabilization system enables the aircraft to perform with extreme agility as well as a high degree of maneuverability, ensuring it can operate to the maximum of its capability and to the limit of its flight envelope," the company said. "In a secondary function, the IMU provides backup navigation data."
More than 400 Northrop Grumman LITEF IMUs have been delivered and are already in service on the Eurofighter in Germany, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Austria and Saudi Arabia.
