Airbus completed the first of six mobile general ground stations (MGGS) developed for NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) aerial reconnaissance capability, the company said Monday.
AGS is a NATO program to establish a NATO-owned and operated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) gathering capability including five Global Hawk unmanned aircraft for airborne sensing; a ground segment of fixed, transportable, and mobile general ground stations; and a support segment.
The MGGS aim to exploit radar images acquired by the Global Hawks via a direct or satellite broadband connection. Data from all interoperable command, control and ISR (C2ISR) systems operated by NATO member states can also be received and evaluated.
“The exploitation results will provide information about stationary and moving objects on the ground to the local unit’s commander and can be distributed as well within NATO forces,” Airbus said in a statement.
Each MGGS is housed in two containers that are transportable by truck, aircraft, train, or ship, Airbus said.
MGGS delivery will begin by year’s end and all six will be delivered to the NATO base in Sigonella, Italy. After initial delivery, the stations can be redeployed to NATO operating units as required.
Airbus first presented the first complete MGGS in the company’s Friedrichshafen, Germany facility to representatives of NATO, the 15 nations involved in the program, and prime system contractor Northrop Grumman [NOC].
MGGS development involves 11 international industrial partners from Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia.