NORTHROP FIRES BACK AT GAO REPORT FIRM DEFENDS GLOBAL HAWK SPYPLANE'S RECORD, PERFORMANCE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - In response to a critical government report, Northrop Grumman says its Palmdale-built Global Hawk robot spyplane is providing combat commanders and troops with critical intelligence in wartime.

In its formal response to a Government Accountability Office report critical of the Pentagon's stepped-up development approach for the computer-controlled reconnaissance aircraft, Northrop Grumman stressed the aircraft's performance over Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Global Hawk's outstanding performance over its more than four-year tour of duty is testament to its capability, reliability and value," the company statement said. "Northrop Grumman and its industry team are committed to working closely with the Air Force to ensure the Global Hawk program stays on cost and schedule while continuing to provide capability to meet our nation's combat and peacetime requirements and helping to protect our men and women in uniform."

The GAO report criticized the Pentagon's overlapping development approach, in which phases of development, testing and production occur simultaneously. The report accuses the Pentagon of investing in production of a larger version of the Global Hawk before it has been tested and before the new intelligence gathering equipment it is to carry has been proven.

The GAO report, compiled for the Senate Armed Services Committee, recommends that the Defense Department limit production of the new larger B model Global Hawk to just a few test aircraft until both the airframe and the sensors it will carry are proven.

Northrop Grumman officials supported the Pentagon's position that the concurrent process gets the aircraft to troops in combat sooner and that the development risks are being properly managed.

"At a time of war, the need for time-sensitive intelligence information is critical," the company statement said. "This essential requirement drove the need to begin production on the program, while continuing to develop, test and insert new technology into Global Hawk."

The company notes Global Hawk aircraft have logged more than 5,400 hours of combat flying time over Iraq and Afghanistan.

In its response to the report, the Pentagon said that delaying production would cause significant cost increases and schedule delays.

"Combatant commanders continue to request this capability, and the acquisition strategy balances risk with the need to support the warfighter," Mark Schaeffer, the Defense Department's acting director of defense systems, wrote in response to the report.

Part of the risk management is an ongoing effort to test the new intelligence equipment on other aircraft, such as Lockheed Martin's venerable U-2, the Defense Department said.

Controlled by onboard computers, the Global Hawk is capable of flying at an altitude of 65,000 feet, above storms and some six miles higher than jetliners normally fly. A Global Hawk can fly for more than 35 hours at a time, and during a single mission can cover 40,000 square miles - bigger than the area of Indiana.

Prior to the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the Global Hawk program was in a technology demonstration phase in which a handful of aircraft were being built and tested to see whether a high-altitude, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft was possible.

After the 2001 attacks, the Global Hawk test aircraft were pressed into war duty over both Afghanistan and Iraq. In the past year, Global Hawk aircraft have provided 15,000 images of targets in the Middle East, according to the Pentagon.

At Northrop Grumman's facilities at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, six larger B model aircraft are in various stages of production. The B models are designed to carry 3,000 pounds of equipment, compared with 2,000 pounds carried by the RQ-4As.

The Global Hawk aircraft are being built by a small cadre of Northrop Grumman workers in Palmdale. Although employment numbers on the program are small, Antelope Valley officials soliciting other programs point to the Global Hawk as an example of the region's technical know-how.

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) The Global Hawk spyplane, defended this past week by its maker, Northrop Grumman, against a report from the Government Accountability Office, has logged more than 5,400 hours of combat flying time over Iraq and Afghanistan, at altitudes of more than 65,000 feet.