Northrop Grumman has started flight testing a new radar for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle—using a high-flying Proteus aircraft stand-in—that will give commanders better situational awareness, combat target identification, target tracking, and time-critical tracking. Called the multi-platform-radar technology insertion program sensor, the airborne surveillance radar flew for the first time on a high-altitude Proteus aircraft for two hours at 22,000 feet flying as fast as 100 knots, according to a Northrop Grumman press release. Northrop, which previously tested the pod alone on the Proteus, has a $90 million contract to integrate the MP-RTIP with its Global Hawk.
The Pentagon awarded a contract worth over $2 billion for the next batch of F-35 engines to Pratt & Whitney on June 5. The deal for Lot 17 F135 engines, totaling $2.02 billion, is expected to be completed by December 2025.