SES + Northrop Grumman + NATO… Joining Forces For JISR (SATCOM)

SES (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) now has an agreement with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to supply…

…satellite capacity and services for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system. Operating under NATO command, AGS will be a major data source for NATO’s system for Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR). AGS supports NATO’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements and a broad range of missions, including protecting ground forces, border and maritime security, counter- and anti-terrorism, crisis management, peacekeeping and enforcement, humanitarian assistance and natural disaster relief. SES will deliver Ku-band capacity over the U.S. and Europe, as well as engineering support in the design and development of the system.

As prime contractor for the NATO AGS program, Northrop Grumman will provide the necessary five Global Hawk air vehicles, supporting systems and payloads. The payloads include the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) radar system capable of detecting and tracking moving objects as well as providing radar imagery of target locations and stationary objects. Northrop Grumman signed a $1.7 billion (1.2 billion euros) contract with NATO and 13 participating nations in May 2012. In addition to the air segment, the contract also includes the purchase, initial operation and maintenance of the ground stations, comprised of mobile and transportable units and providing real-time data, intelligence and target identification to commanders within and beyond line of sight. AGS participating nations include Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and the USA