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 rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.