Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a 24-month contract by the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Special Projects Search and Counter Measures team for in-service support of the CUTLASS Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) remotely controlled vehicle.

The CUTLASS remotely controlled vehicle for explosive ordnance disposal was designed, developed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman in the U.K., and provides state-of-the-art capabilities for national security and resilience applications

The work, which is a continuation of the existing in-service support contract for CUTLASS, will be carried out at Northrop Grumman’s Coventry facility where the company provides life cycle support for all of its EOD unmanned ground systems. CUTLASS was designed, developed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman in the U.K., and includes significant advances in technology and performance and a range of features that provides state-of-the-art capabilities for national security and resilience applications. “Our CUTLASS vehicle has set new standards for unmanned ground vehicles since it was first introduced, significantly enhancing the ability of users to handle hazardous threats safely. The vehicle is in-service across the U.K. and has proven itself to be robust and capable in the most demanding environments,” said Andrew Tyler, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Europe. “This contract will enable us to ensure that the CUTLASS continues to deliver state-of-the-art EOD capabilities for the Armed Forces.”

Northrop Grumman's unmanned ground vehicle business has been established in Coventry for more than 20 years. In the U.K, the company designs, develops, manufactures and supports some of the most capable and reliable unmanned ground vehicles available, from the Wheelbarrow bomb disposal robot to the latest vehicle, CUTLASS. Northrop Grumman has more than 2,300 unmanned ground vehicle systems in operation around the world.