PALMDALE TAKES A MISS ON PART OF GLOBAL HAWK PROJECT RECONNAISSANCE JET PRODUCTION TO SHIFT FROM VALLEY PLANT.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Subassembly sub·as·sem·bly n. pl. sub·as·sem·blies An assembled unit forming a component to be incorporated into a larger assembly. work on the unmanned Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft will move from Palmdale to Mississippi, but final assembly work on the aircraft will remain in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. announced Friday. Saying the move will help keep down costs, Northrop Grumman announced it was expanding the scope of work at its planned Jackson County Jackson County is the name of 23 counties and one parish in the United States:
Roughly 20 to 25 workers in Palmdale will be transferred to other local work as a result of the decision. Those workers will likely go into the F-35 joint strike fighter program The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) became synonymous with the later F-35 Lightning II, however until 2001 the term was applied to the competition between the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35. . Northrop Grumman assembles the center fuselage of the F-35 at Palmdale. ``Everything else will stay in Palmdale,'' said company spokeswoman Cynthia Curiel. Originally slated to occupy 39,000 square feet and employ approximately 40 people to produce the Fire Scout UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle UAV Urban Assault Vehicle UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army, the Mississippi facility will now occupy more than 100,000 square feet and initially provide 100 manufacturing jobs. That figure could rise to about 160 jobs within the next few years should UAV production rates increase, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Northrop Grumman. The Mississippi facility is expected to be completed in November. ``Expanding operations at this low-cost manufacturing center in Moss Point enables Northrop Grumman to directly respond to our customers' desire to manage UAV costs and provide the best-value solution for their acquisition dollar,'' said Christopher Hernandez, sector vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's unmanned systems business. Northrop Grumman will continue to perform Global Hawk final assembly and flight testing at facilities in Palmdale and at Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. . Congressman Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, whose district includes the Palmdale plant, said he had met with Northrop Grumman officials to discuss his concerns about the move. ``Company officials understand my highest commitment is not only to our national defense, but to the citizens and families of our area, and have assured me that no jobs will be lost as a result of this relocation,'' the congressman said in a statement. ``I will continue to actively monitor this situation in the months ahead, working with Northrop Grumman and area leaders to ensure that Global Hawk final assembly and flight testing will continue to remain at facilities in Palmdale and at Edwards Air Force Base.'' The Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance reconnaissance aircraft, controlled by onboard computers. The airplanes have logged more than 6,000 flight hours, with nearly half accumulated during combat operations supporting the global war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act . Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Some production on the unmanned Global Hawk reconnaissance jet has beeb shifted from the Northrop Grumman facility in Palmdale to a plant in Mississippi. |
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