Northrop Grumman anticipates starting flight testing the Block 30 high-flying Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle before year’s end, so said Bill Walker, Northrop Grumman’s business and development manager for Global Hawk, Tuesday during AFA’s Air & Space Conference. He expects operational test and evaluation of the Block 30 version with the U-2 spyplane’s signals intelligence capability to begin in 2008. And, the Block 40 version would begin flight testing next summer. Walker noted that the company already had delivered four Block 20 versions to the Air Force and had two more on the way. He said that the North Dakota Air National Guard is slated to receive the Block 40 version.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
