Air Force buys six new unmanned spy planes from Northrop Grumman
SAN DIEGO -- The Air Force is buying six of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s newest unmanned spy planes for $303 million, company officials said Tuesday.
The contract includes four Global Hawk systems for the Air Force and two for the Navy. The newly available drones, to be built in San Diego, are due by 2005.
Designed to serve as a substitute for the U-2 spy plane, the Global Hawks can hover over a target for up to 24 hours. With a 116-foot wingspan, they have a range of 3,000 miles and can fly as high as 65,000 feet.
Northrop Grumman competes with San Diego-based General Atomics, maker of the Predator, for the supply of unmanned drones to the U.S. military.
The smaller Predators can't fly as high, as far or remain in the air as long as the Global Hawk, but cost one-tenth of the $50 million Global Hawk and can fire missiles. Last year, a CIA-controlled Predator fired a Hellfire missile at a car in Yemen, killing six suspected al-Qaida members.
--From the Thursday, February 13, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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