TWO PRODUCTION SPY PLANES LEAVE PALMDALE PLANT.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - The first two produced Global Hawk unmanned spy planes have gone into service this month supporting the War on Terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism , the Air Force and 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. said. Two RQ-4A Global Hawks, produced in Palmdale, deployed to an undisclosed Middle East location to begin intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance may refer to:
The preproduction pre·pro·duc·tion adj. 1. Taking place or existing before production: preproduction planning. 2. Global Hawk, one of three that has seen service in the War on Terror, has logged more than 3,000 hours of combat flying time during its two years in the Middle East. ``Global Hawk can loiter loiter v. to linger or hang around in a public place or business where one has no particular or legal purpose. In many states, cities, and towns there are statutes or ordinances against loitering by which the police can arrest someone who refuses to "move along. over an assigned area for more than a day or can be retasked to gather information over hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. at a moment's notice,'' said Jerry Madigan, vice president of Northrop Grumman's High Altitude Conventionally, an altitude above 10,000 meters (33,000 feet). See also altitude. Long Endurance programs. ``Once the Global Hawk is over the specific area, commanders can view problem areas quickly and make crucial decisions within minutes.'' Two more production RQ-4A model aircraft will be delivered to the Air Force in the next few weeks. At Northrop Grumman's facilities at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, six ``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 This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley officials soliciting other programs point to the Global Hawk as an example of the region's technical know-how. 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, for more than 35 hours at a time. During a single mission, a Global Hawk can cover 40,000 square miles. 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 it was possible to field a high-altitude, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. Immediately after the attacks, the test aircraft were pressed into service for the War on Terror. Through three deployments, more than 250 missions and 5,000 combat flight hours have been logged by the three preproduction aircraft, according to Northrop Grumman. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com |
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