The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying wing with a crew of two, the plane was designed by Northrop as the prime contractor, with Boeing, Hughes, and Vought as principal subcontractors, and was produced from 1987 to 2000. The bomber can drop conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as up to eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82 JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged in-service aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
The AN/FPS-133 Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, was a U.S. government multistatic radar system built to detect orbital objects passing over America. It is a component of the U.S. space surveillance network, and according to the U.S. Navy was able to detect basketball sized objects at heights up to 30,000 km (19,000 mi).
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft introduced in 2001. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical, and known as Tier II+ during development. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense company. With 95,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers. The firm ranked No. 101 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations.
The Raytheon Company was a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007. Raytheon was the world's largest producer of guided missiles. In April 2020, the Raytheon Company merged with United Technologies Corporation to form Raytheon Technologies, which changed its name to RTX Corporation in July 2023.
The Northrop Grumman E-10 MC2A was planned as a multi-role military aircraft to replace the Boeing 707-based E-3 Sentry and E-8 Joint STARS, the Boeing 747-based E-4B, and the RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft in US military service. The E-10 was based on the Boeing 767-400ER commercial airplane.
The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is an X-band electronically steered pulse-Doppler 3D radar system used to alert and cue Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) weapons to the locations of hostile targets approaching their front line forces. It is currently produced by Raytheon Missiles & Defense.
The ADM-160 MALD is an air-launched, expendable decoy missile developed by the United States. Later variants (MALD-J) are additionally equipped with electronic countermeasures to actively jam early warning and target acquisition radars.
Goodyear Aerospace Corporation (GAC) was the aerospace and defense subsidiary of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The company was originally operated as a division within Goodyear as the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, part of a joint project with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, leading to the development of rigid airships in the United States. As part of the failing relationship between the US and Germany in the era prior to World War II, the division was spun off as Goodyear Aircraft Company in 1939. The company opened a new factory in Arizona in 1941 which produced subassemblies, including subcontracted airframe construction and the design of the Goodyear F2G Corsair and Goodyear Duck.
The Space Fence is a second-generation space surveillance system operated by the United States Space Force in order to track artificial satellites and space debris in Earth orbit.
A tethered, moored or captiveballoon is a balloon that is restrained by one or more tethers attached to the ground so it cannot float freely. The base of the tether is wound around the drum of a winch, which may be fixed or mounted on a vehicle, and is used to raise and lower the balloon.
The Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) is an American low-level airborne ground surveillance system that uses aerostats as radar platforms. Similar systems include the EL/M-2083 and JLENS.
The AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) is an American military program to develop an air-to-surface missile, to replace the current air-launched BGM-71 TOW, AGM-114 Hellfire, and AGM-65 Maverick missiles. The U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps plan to buy thousands of JAGMs.
Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about 90 km (56 mi) at speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Speeds over Mach 25 have been achieved below the thermosphere as of 2020.
A high-altitude platform station, also known as atmospheric satellite, is a long endurance, high altitude aircraft able to offer observation or communication services similarly to artificial satellites. Mostly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), they remain aloft through atmospheric lift, either aerodynamic like airplanes, or aerostatic like airships or balloons. High-altitude long endurance (HALE) military drones can fly above 60,000 ft over 32 hours, while civil HAPS are radio stations at an altitude of 20 to 50 km above waypoints, for weeks.
The AN/SPY-6 is an active electronically scanned array 3D radar under development for the United States Navy (USN). It will provide integrated air and missile defense for Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Variants are under development for retrofitting Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes and for installation aboard Constellation-class frigates, Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, America-class amphibious assault ships, and San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks.
The AGM-158C LRASM is a stealth air launch anti-ship cruise missile developed for the United States Air Force and United States Navy by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Derived from the AGM-158B JASSM-ER, the LRASM was intended to pioneer more sophisticated autonomous targeting capabilities than the U.S. Navy's current Harpoon anti-ship missile, which has been in service since 1977.
The Blue Devil blimp was a proposed reconnaissance airship that was built for the United States Air Force for use in the War in Afghanistan. It was designed to capture and process data from onboard sensors before delivering it to ground troops.
The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, was a tethered aerial detection system designed to track boats, ground vehicles, cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft, and other threats. The system had four primary components: two tethered aerostats which utilized a helium/air mix, armored mooring stations, sophisticated radars, and a processing station designed to communicate with anti-missile and other ground and airborne systems. Each system was referred to as an "orbit", and two orbits were built. The Army-led joint program which fielded JLENS was designed to complement fixed-wing surveillance aircraft, saving money on crew, fuel, maintenance and other costs, and give military commanders advance warning to make decisions and provide notifications. Following cost overruns, underperformance, declining support in Congress, and public scrutiny following a snapped tether which allowed one craft moored at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland to drift on a 100-mile uncontrolled descent across Pennsylvania, dragging its cable tether which damaged power lines and cut power to 20,000 homes, the program was suspended in October 2015, and completely discontinued by 2017.
