Northrop Grumman to show bomb-delivered reconnaissance

Designers from Northrop Grumman Corp. in Los Angeles are to demonstrate the Munition-Deployed Bomb Damage Assessment (MDBDA) system this fall. The MDBDA, which consists of an airborne video sensor and RF data link, is to provide battlefield commanders, with important real-time information from strikes against a variety of targets at relatively low cost. The MDBDA`s aerodynamic sensor body is designed to separate from the munition after weapon release and begins taking high-speed, high-resolution images from a sensor tethered 1,000 feet behind the munition. It fits on a variety of bombs and missiles. Testing will be from October 1997 to April 1998. - J.K.