Northrop Grumman adopts Spraycool thermal management systems for ASIP aboard U-2 reconnaissance aircraft
LIBERTY LAKE, Wa., 19 April 2007. SprayCool's thermal management systems were included in the first flight of Northrop Grumman Corporation's Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload (ASIP) aboard a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. ASIP is a next-generation signals intelligence sensor being developed for U.S. Air Force high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.
The ASIP program will deliver enhanced SIGINT capabilities to the warfighter on both the U-2 and the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The ASIP sensor detects, identifies, and locates radar and other types of electronic and modern communication signals. It is designed and produced by Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector, Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory business unit.
The ASIP sensors will complete flight test on the U-2 in 2007 with operational fielding expected in 2008. The Global Hawk variant of the ASIP sensor will complete flight testing in 2008 and begin production in 2009 with operational fielding in 2012.
"SprayCool technology enables ASIP to efficiently operate commercial, off-the-shelf as well as very high-end electronics at high altitudes," Jeff Severs, president and chief executive officer of SprayCool, notes. "Operation of electronics in stressed, high-altitude environments, especially with products installed in unpressurized areas of the aircraft, are beset with very low temperatures and minimal air density. This requires a thermal management solution that supports both heating and cooling of electronics. SprayCool's technology does exactly that."
"Working with Northrop Grumman, we've expanded our capabilities, and when combined with Global Hawk flight testing conducted in late 2005, have now demonstrated SprayCool enabled SIGINT on manned and unmanned aircraft," Severs says.
