A new report from the Government Accountability Office assessing 52 major weapon systems calls into question the Air Force’s rush to procure more of the highly acclaimed RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. GAO claims program restructuring, overlapping development, and production schedules for both the RQ-4A and B models and accelerated planned deliveries are pushing program costs up much faster than anticipated. GAO also casts a most wary eye on procurement of the less technologically mature B model. The Air Force aided the GAO in its quest for information—no hidden agenda here—and commented that the service keeps DOD abreast of the “risks and benefits” in the program. USAF officials also noted that software, not hardware, is the “critical element” for the newer B model, but add that the revolutionary radar and signals sensors progress only through test and decision points. (You can read the entire 148-page report here.)
The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.