Drawing the Technology Line, Finally: According to the South Korean Chosun Ilbo, government officials confirmed Thursday that Washington had turned down Seoul’s request to purchase Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. The export of the RQ-4A Global Hawk, Northrop Grumman’s cutting edge reconnaissance aircraft would have required Congressional sign-off, but the Bush Administration nixed the possibility for fear of transferring key strategic technology. However, according to Seoul, it took Washington six months to let them know.
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.