Northrop Grumman formally opened its new Unmanned Systems Center production facility in Moss Point, Miss., on Tuesday, with CEO Ron Sugar presiding over the opening ceremony. Sugar pronounced the new center a dedicated unmanned systems production facility with significant expansion potential—in a “cost-effective location.” The $13 million, 101,000 square-foot facility will be used to produce the Army’s MQ-8B Fire Scout and portions of the Air Force’s RQ-4B Global Hawk high-altitude ISR unmanned aerial vehicle.
The advanced F-47 sixth-generation fighter remains on track to fly in the next two years, the senior Air Force acquisition officer overseeing the program said Feb. 25, as the service continues on its ambitious schedule to debut the air superiority-focused fighter by 2028—only three years after the contract was awarded…