Northrop Grumman

They're being thrown out of Iraq, they carry a reputation of being brutal and undisciplined killers, but the DoD may have something sweet lined up for Blackwater.

Northrop Grumman, along with industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), have begun re-assembly of the world's most powerful laser built for an airborne environment onto MDA's Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft to prepare for high-power system testing.

Northrop Grumman celebrates 10 years as the U.S. Air Force's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Prime Integrating Contractor, a highly successful effort led by the company to modernize and maintain the reliability, safety and security of the nation's land-based Minuteman III weapon system.

Northrop Grumman said Wednesday it has won a new U.S. Defense Department contract to help fight the war on drugs. The company said it had been "awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity -- IDIQ -- contract by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide technology development application for new products and services to defense and federal civilian agencies, state and local authorities, and partner nations engaged in counter-drug and counter-narco-terrorism -- CNT -- operations." Northrop Grumman said it was "one of five companies that will compete for task orders under this IDIQ contract. The contract, administered by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala., has a total program ceiling of $15 billion over five years."

Who Loves Real ID? AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo Do.: "The federal Real ID Act doesn’t have many friends these days. Eighteen states have passed legislation rejecting the law, Congress has refused to put any money into implementing it, and just this week New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer announced he, not the Feds, would determine New York’s drivers license policy, with officials in his administration indicating the state might opt out of the Real ID program altogether.

Airborne Laser (ABL), a U.S. Air Force program aimed at destroying enemy ballistic missiles as they rise off their launch pads, could be deployed against conventional aircraft and even ground targets, according to prime contractor Boeing. During a Sep. 4 teleconference, Greg Hyslop, Boeing Airborne Laser vice president and program manager, said the Air Force is developing operational concepts for the beam weapon that could include “other missions and targets.”

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has released a video animation of the planned Oblique Flying Wing X-plane demonstrator now being designed by Northrop Grumman. The animation shows the asymmetric flying wing sweeping from 0° to 65° as the unmanned demonstrator accelerates Mach 0.6 to Mach 1.2.