The Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $60 million contract to begin production of the next five RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. Northrop officials say the company expects to begin production of hardware late this year and assembly next year. The new RQ-4B is designed to carry 3,000 pounds of payload—a 50 percent increase over the RQ-4A model—to deliver and increase the amount and type of information available to warfighters.
The nominee to become the next head of U.S. Strategic Command, Vice Adm. Richard Correll, endorsed the production of more than 100 B-21 bombers, echoing his predecessor Gen. Anthony Cotton's view.
