US Army, Northrop Grumman developing ITDS phase two

UH-60M conducting US Army phase one flight tests of Northrop Grumman's Improved Threat Detection System. (US Army)

US Army officials are working with industry counterparts at Northrop Grumman to draft a road map for phase two development for the ground service's Improved Threat Detection System (ITDS) programme.

Phase one development of the platform began as an other transaction authority (OTA) deal and focused on “classic missile warning capability”, said Leah Hooten, vice-president for aircraft survivability at Northrop Grumman.

However, heading into phase two, programme officials at the company are focused on maturing a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) component as well as some other “advanced capabilities”, Hooten said during a 25 September interview. US Army Project Management Office, Aircraft Survivability Equipment (PMO ASE) selected the company for phase two ITDS development in July.

The C-UAS-capable ITDS under development by Northrop Grumman is currently in phase one development with the army “and we are working directly with the army to get the [statement of work] for phase two … to make sure we hit the milestones they need to achieve, in the timeframe they need to achieve it”, Trevis Crane, director of survivability development programs at Northrop Grumman, said during the same interview.

Programme officials at the company anticipate a request for proposals (RFP) to be issued by army leaders for phase two development in the coming months, with an end goal of having a phase two contract award in place by the end of 2025, Crane said.

While details on phase two development are still being hammered out, programme officials at Northrop Grumman anticipate phase two will be a three-year period of performance, according to Crane.