The joint US/German test of a Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk equipped with an EADS electronic intelligence payload (ELINT) in German airspace is to run between 15 October and 6 November.
The testing, originally meant to take place earlier this year, will comprise four flights from Nordholz in northern Germany, with the option of a fifth sortie being retained as a back-up.
The demonstration will use the US Air Force's prototype RQ-4 unmanned air vehicle, which has been refurbished by Northrop Grumman for use as a test-bed for future development.
The USAF flew the EADS ELINT payload in August as a prelude to the German deployment. That test followed an initial flight trial using another Global Hawk in November last year.
Results from the German flights will be used by the German defence ministry to finalise requirements for the proposed acquisition of Eurohawk Global Hawk derivatives as a replacement for German navy Dassault Atlantic intelligence aircraft.
The purchase, planned as a hybrid commercial-US foreign military sale, will mark the first RQ-4 export.
The German defence ministry planned to release a Eurohawk acquisition request for tenders in late June, but has delayed release until early next year pending results from the October demonstration. A deal is being targeted for the third quarter of 2004, provided there is German parliamentary approval.
Northrop Grumman and EADS plan to establish a joint venture company as part of the deal, but detailed negotiations will not happen until the demonstration phase is successfully completed.
Source: Flight International
