Aerospace Manufacturing and Design Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Firebird optionally-manned autonomous aircraft flew almost 9,000 miles around the U.S. The multi-sensor Firebird demonstrated its ability to be flown manned, then converted to autonomous surveillance operations (as shown) in less than two hours. Firebird, a medium altitude long endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS), allows customers to install new payloads in one day, and swap payloads in 30 minutes. GKN Aerospace GKN Aerospace will manufacture advanced composite V-tails for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI)’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) from its facility in Cowes, United Kingdom. The agreement expands a 10-year strategic relationship between GKN Aerospace and GA-ASI, whose SkyGuardian is the basis of the U.K. Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Protector and has been selected by Belgium’s and Australia’s defense forces.