Digital Wideband AESA Sensor Undergoes Flight Test

Northrop Grumman conducted a flight test to demonstrate the capabilities of Terracotta, its new fully-digital open mission systems (OMS)-compliant wideband active electronically scanned array (AESA) sensor By DA Staff / 30 Jun 2021

AESA Radar

Discover cutting-edge solutions from leading global suppliers
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
Follow DA

Northrop Grumman Corporation has conducted a flight test of its new wideband sensor technology with a fully-digital open mission systems architecture to support airborne early warning radar, active and passive sensing, and communications. The flight test was a follow-on to ground and flight demonstrations conducted in fall 2020.

The Terracotta active electronically scanned array (AESA) sensor demonstrated its ability to simultaneously perform both active and passive radio frequency capabilities. With almost 200 wideband digital channels, Terracotta can be molded cooperatively or segmented depending on the operation.

“As a fully-digital multifunction sensor with a wide operating bandwidth, Terracotta can seamlessly provide adaptive spectrum maneuverability,” said Paul Kalafos, vice president, surveillance and electromagnetic maneuver warfare. 

“The sensor’s architecture is easily scaled and configured for many applications and systems across all domains. It represents a key enabling technology for joint all domain operations.”

Unlike traditional sensors, multifunction apertures consolidate multiple capabilities into a single sensor, decreasing both the number of apertures needed and the size, weight, and power requirements for the advanced capabilities. Sophisticated multifunction apertures like Terracotta can deploy several functions simultaneously.

OMS compliance offers an interface solution based on open architecture design allowing customers to rapidly add new or improved capabilities, regardless of supplier, at a reduced cost.

Posted by DA Staff Connect & Contact

Latest Articles

C5ISR & the Evolution of Situational Awareness in Defense Operations

Elistair explores how C5ISR integrates command, intelligence, and combat systems to enhance situational awareness and decision-making in modern military operations

Jul 16, 2025
RF Drone Detection Solution Selected for Integration into C-UAS Capability

Metis will supply a NATO consumer with its Skyperion Radio Frequency (RF) drone detection components for defending airspace, infrastructure and installations against rogue drones

Jul 16, 2025
Static Calibration Techniques for Silicon Designs Accelerometers

Learn how to perform quick, accurate static calibration of Silicon Designs MEMS DC accelerometers using only a voltmeter and gravity, no specialized equipment required

Jul 16, 2025
Disasters Expo USA & Resilient City Expo Co-Locating in Houston

Disasters Expo USA and Resilient City Expo will take place on November 5–6, 2025, bringing professionals to Houston to address crisis response and long-term resilience

Jul 15, 2025
General Digital’s Modular Approach to Rugged Display Design

General Digital outlines how its flexible design approach delivers rugged, customer-tailored military displays, rigorously tested in-house even when formal MIL-STD certification is not required

Jul 15, 2025
Precision Underwater Sensing for Critical Naval & Security Missions

Defense Advancement showcases Impact Subsea's underwater sensing technologies for naval and security missions

Jul 15, 2025

Featured Content

Q&A: How Revector Supports Defense with Mobile Intelligence

This Q&A provides insight into Revector’s technology, detailing its role in covert surveillance, threat detection, and integration with defense and security systems

Jul 14, 2025
New Oscilloquartz Optical Cesium Clocks Enhance Network Timing Precision

Adtran is expanding its Oscilloquartz portfolio with the new OSA 3200 SP and OSA 3250 ePRC optical cesium models, providing improved holdover and simplified maintenance for telecom, data center, utility, and defense networks

Jul 09, 2025
Teledyne FLIR OEM Whitepaper: Synthetic Data Generation for AI Object Detection

Read Teledyne FLIR OEM’s whitepaper on AIMMGen™, a defense-oriented synthetic data and AI model generation pipeline tailored to Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) and object classification tasks

Jul 03, 2025
Advancing Defense Capability Through Strategic Collaboration Defense Advancement works with major OEMs to foster collaboration and increase engagement with SMEs, to accelerate innovation and drive defense capabilities forward.