Northrop Grumman, a leader in global security and solid-state radar technology, will showcase its key defence and security infrastructure system solutions at the upcoming International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi.

The largest defence and security event in the Mena region, Idex will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from February 20 to 24. The expo this year celebrates its 10th anniversary.

The products to be displayed at the expo include airborne early warning and control systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, fire control radars and electronic warfare systems, the company said in a statement.

'Northrop Grumman's strong relationship with the GCC countries goes back many decades and is built on a legacy of trust and performance,' said Paul B. Kalafos, Jr., vice president surveillance systems, Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector.

'Our objective is to continue to work closely with our customers to provide long-term capability solutions and help enhance defence and national security across the region,' he noted.

The exhibit will showcase Northrop Grumman's world-leading capabilities in airborne early warning and control. Featured will be the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye programme couples a newly designed electronically scanned radar with a matching suite of sensors, avionics, processors, software and displays to provide the most technologically advanced command and control capability available worldwide, said Kalafos.

The AN/APY-9 radar, with a two-generation leap in capability, is the backbone of this aircraft and provides greater flexibility and significantly improved detection and tracking over all terrains.

The first E-2D to enter the US Navy fleet was delivered in July 2010 and aircrew training is currently underway. The programme is on track for Initial Operational Test and Evaluation in 2013 and Initial Operational Capability in the fleet in 2015, he added.

The MESA surveillance radar, Kalafos said, was an advanced airborne surveillance sensor and provided national protection enabling sophisticated air-to-air and maritime coverage and integrated friend-or-foe identification.

It is the first of its type with potential capabilities that have yet to be exploited.

MESA provides beam on demand electronic scan flexibility, revisits in any direction at any time, extends range and special features and adjusts coverage to match threats. A scale model of the array will be available for viewing.

The company's industry-leading Active Electronically Scanned Array programmes will also be featured with a full-scale model of the corporation's AN/APG-81 fire control radar at the IDEX.

Also on display will be Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-68(V)9 mechanically scanned array radar for the F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft. The AN/APR-39 is specially designed to maximize survivability by improving aircrew situational awareness, explained Kalafos.

'The system provides continuous 360-degree coverage to automatically detect and identify threat types, bearing and lethality before alerting a cockpit crew to each threat with a graphical symbol on the cockpit multifunction display or video display,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service