It Flies — And Dies!

By Mark Thompson | @MarkThompson_DC | January 25, 2012 | +

Northrop

The balloon’s gone up in the war of leaks over planned Pentagon budget cuts. Here’s a pair of items that seem to reach differing conclusions about one of the Air Force’s key spy drone programs.

Bloomberg’s Tony Capaccio reports:

Pentagon Proposes Buying 3 More Northrop Grumman Global Hawks

The Pentagon’s proposed fiscal 2013 budget includes about $1.2 billion to buy three additional advanced versions of Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Global Hawk surveillance drone, according to a U.S. government official.

But Reuters’ Andrea Shalal-Esa writes:

Exclusive: U.S. Air Force to halt Northrop unmanned plane

The U.S. Air Force has decided to scrap its Northrop Grumman Corp high-altitude unmanned surveillance plane program and keep its Cold War-vintage U-2 spy planes flying into the 2020s, according to a government official and a defense analyst.

Of course, if you read beyond the initial couple of paragraphs, apparently both are true.

Related Topics: Air Force, Drones, Military, National Security, Pentagon, Weapons

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