MELBOURNE, Fla., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman's Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle has passed three development milestones since the airship agreement was signed with the U.S. Army.
"In less than four months time, we have completed our System Readiness Review, Initial Baseline Review and our Preliminary Design Review, which looks at the hybrid air vehicle design, ground station infrastructure and ground and airborne system software," said Alan Metzger, Northrop Grumman vice president and integrated program team leader of LEMV and airship programs.
"As we move forward, we look to inflate our first vehicle next spring and our first flight is scheduled for mid-next summer. Upon completion of the development ground and flight testing phase, we expect to transition to a government facility and conduct our final acceptance test in December 2011."
In June the company signed a $517 million agreement with the Army to build three airships with 21-day persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability. The agreement provides for the design, development and testing of the first long-endurance airship within an 18-month time period.
Each airship is longer than a football field, taller than a seven-story building and will remain airborne for more than three weeks at a time, delivering a high level of fuel efficiency.
Northrop Grumman has teamed with Hybrid Air Vehicles, Ltd. of England, using its HAV304 platform. Other team members include Warwick Mills, ILC Dover, AAI Corporation, SAIC and a team of technology leaders from 18 U.S. states and three countries to build LEMV.
