Northrop Grumman aperture system could bring BMD to F-35

摘要

Northrop Grumman is testing its Distributed Aperture System (DAS), which is designed to provide multifunctional situ-ational awareness for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and exploring the potential for the radar to be a ballistic missile defence (BMD) asset. DAS brings six sensors -mounted on the top, bottom, forward, and aft - to the F-35. "These six sensors, when you put them all together, give you an entire unobstructed field of regard around the aircraft," Pete Bartos, fifth-generation improvements and derivatives director for Northrop Grumman told IHS Jane's at the annual Air Force Association symposium in Washington, DC.