Northrop Grumman Wins AWACS Pact

Northrop Grumman Corp. won a contract from Boeing worth up to $73 million to upgrade Japan's four E-767 Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft. According to the foreign military contract, Northrop Grumman will provide four Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP) kits for Japan's E-767 fleet, spares and repair parts, support equipment, technical publications and documentation, services and other related program elements to support AWACS mission equipment. A follow-on installation and check-out contract is planned to begin in 2010. Northrop Grumman said the upgrades will improve the aircraft’s surveillance capability by increasing the pulse Doppler radar sensitivity to enable the aircraft to detect and track smaller targets. It also improves the radar's electronic counter-countermeasures, human-machine interface and reliability and maintainability. More