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Northrop Grumman/EADS TIPS

Type (Muster)
Ground-surveillance aircraft (Gefechtsfeldaufklärungsflugzeug)

Country (Land)
USA/Europe

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Northrop Grumman
2000 West NASA Boulevard
Melbourne, FL 32904
USA

Phone: 001-321/951-6866
Fax: 001-321/951-5335
Internet: www.northropgrumman.com and www.eads.com

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2 in the cockpit plus 15 operator workstations in the cabin.

Sensor: TCAR (Transatlantic Collaborative Advanced Radar) with active electronically scanned array for ground surveillance in a radome below the fuselage. The antenna has a length of about 5,5 x 0,6 metres.

Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x CFM56-5B/P or CFM56-5B2 or CFM56-5B3 or IAE V2530-A5 or IAE V2533-A5
Thrust (Schub): 2 x 133,4 kN (30000 lbs) or up to 146,8 kN (33000 lbs)

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 44,51 m
Height (Höhe): 11,81 m
Span (Spannweite): 34,09 m
Maximum fuselage width (Rumpfbreite): 3,94 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 122,4 sq m

Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 34,44 m
Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 3,68 m
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 2,16 m

Weights (Massen)
Payload (Nutzlast): 12250 kg
Max. take-off weigth (Max. Startmasse): 83000 to 93000 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Typical operating Mach number (typische Machzahl): 0.78
Max. operating altitude (Dienstgipfelhöhe): around 10670 m (35000 ft)
Take-off distance (Startstrecke): 2200 to 2340 m at ISA + 15 deg C
Landing field length (Landestrecke): 1540 – 1580 m
Range (Reichweite): around 7780 km
Mission duration (Flugzeit): 10 hours or more than 30 hours with in-flight refuelling

Costs (Kosten)
No details known. NATO is proposing a 350 million US-Dollar development phase and has tentatively earmarked 3,15 billion US-Dollars for procurement.

Customers (Kunden)
None yet. NATO is looking for an Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system. This could encompass six converted mid-sized airliners and nine UAVs. There is also an extensive ground segment with 24 ground stations.

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
A team led by Raytheon is offering CTAS on the basis of a Bombardier Global Express business Jet for the NATO AGS requirement.

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The TIPS (Transatlantic Industrial Proposed Solution) is offering an AGS system based on a mid-sized airliner, most probably an Airbus A321. Also, the manned platform could be complemented by high-flying, long-endurance UAVs, in this case a version of the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk (RQ-4B). Features of TIPS are:

open systems architecture
interoperability
use of commercial off-the-shelf technology
maximised commonality between air, ground and support elements
AESA radar, jointly developed between US and European companies (TCAR, incorporating technologies from SOSTAR-X and MP-RTIP)
Datalinks such as Link 11, 16, 22 and UHF satellite communications

The TIPS team was founded in 2002 by EADS, Galilea Avionica and Northrop Grumman. It now comprises:

EADS: Founder member in 2002
Galileo Avionica: Founder member in 2002
General Dynamics Canada: Joined at the Paris Air Show on 17 June 2003
Indra: joined at the Paris Air Show on 17 June 2003
Northrop Grumman: Founder member in 2002
Thales: Joined in November 2002

In September 2003, the TIPS group claimed to have signed agreements with nearly 60 industries representing countries from all across NATO. TIPS plans to offer “direct industrial particiapation in the programme, not just offsets”, it was said.

History (Geschichte)
For more than ten years, NATO was looking for an Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system with no progress in sight.
In the spring of 2001, CNAD (national armaments directors) elevated the AGS problem to the ministers. At a Reinforced North Atlantic Council Meeting (RNAC) on 18 September 2001, the AGS was revived. In December, an AGS Support Staff (AGS3) under the AGS Steering Committee was established and tasked to present possible options for AGS until spring 2004.
On 3 April 2002, EADS, Galileo Avionica and Northrop Grumman presented a “White Paper” to NATO, outlining a Transatlantic Industrial Proposed Solution (TIPS) for the NATO minimum essential core capability required by 2010. It was said that the 2010 full operational capability target could be met if a contract was awarded in 2003.
The TIPS partners met with the NATO AGS Industrial Working Group in May 2002, during the ILA airshow in Berlin. At the Farnborough Air Show in July 2002, TIPS issued information showing lots of possible cooperation partners in all 19 NATO countries.
On 15 November 2002 it was announced that Thales Group had joined TIPS. In reality, a formal agreement was only signed months later.
The AGS programme got new urgency with the November 2002 NATO summit at Prague that re-stated an Initial Operating Capability (IOC) date of 2010 and outlined a clear preference for a transatlantic radar development to be used. In the following months it became clear that a mix of manned and unmanned systems was essential, and so the TIPS team offered a new architecture with 6 mid-size aircraft, 9 UAVs and 24 ground stations.
At the Paris Air Show in June 2003, TIPS announced that Indra of Spain and General Dynamics Canada would join the group. Also at Paris, more than 25 members of the TIPS Industrial Working Group met to discuss elements of the upcoming study pase of the AGS programme.
On 1 July 2003, NATO released its request for quote and in August let detailed concept definition study contracts to the TIPS team as well as to Raytheon for its CTAS offering base on the Global Express business jet. This phase was valued at 1,5 million US-Dollars. Offers from both contenders are due to be submitted on 21 November 2003.
After selection of the preferred system in the spring of 2004 (possibly February or March), industry hopes to have a contract in place by December 2004 to begin a 350 million US-Dollar design and development phase.
An acquisition programme could be started in 2007, for which NATO has assumed a price of 3,15 billion US-Dollars. This figure is not fixed, however, and Raytheon presumes it could go lower. Money will have to come from NATO countries, but exact shares are yet to be worked out.

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Last updated 26 September 2003

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