Pentagon restructures Northrop's Global Hawk

Posted on: Jun. 6th, 2006 || Source: washingtonpost.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon told Congress on Monday that national security needs made it necessary to continue a $6 billion Northrop Grumman Corp. unmanned surveillance drone program, despite major cost overruns.

But Pentagon acquisitions chief Ken Krieg told lawmakers the Global Hawk program would be restructured and production would be limited to no more than five aircraft per year until initial operational tests were completed.

"Global Hawk is providing the department a combination of unmanned persistence, reach and (intelligence) collection that no other program can provide," the Pentagon said in a statement about the restructuring, which follows a 60-day review triggered when the program's cost growth exceeded 25 percent.

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