A Mississippi Hawk Takes Shape: 
Northrop Grumman says that the company’s new unmanned systems center in Moss Point, Miss., has begun assembling the center’s first Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle right on schedule, despite last year’s disastrous hurricane season. The plant is working on the 17th Global Hawk produced since program inception in 1995. Company officials report that, as of mid-July, the high-flying UAV has flown more than 6,000 combat hours for the war on terrorism.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
