Block 40 Global Hawk Faces Hurdles
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By Amy Butler
As Northrop Grumman rolls out its first Global Hawk Block 40 aircraft, the high-flying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program is facing some hurdles.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense and U.S. Air Force are ironing out particulars of a delay to the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) period for the Block 20/30 Global Hawk. Industry and government sources suggest it is likely to be nine months; the original plan was to start IOT&E in August and wrap up in November.
Meanwhile, House appropriators are considering a substantial cut to the program in fiscal 2010, according to a program source. The Air Force requested $667.8 million in FY ’10 to continue producing air vehicles and $317.3 million for continued research and development. The House move could trim three air vehicles from the planned buy of five aircraft next fiscal year.
Though the program is facing delays, demand for Global Hawk services is not diminishing. The Pentagon has approved the addition of a Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN) onto two Global Hawk Block 20 air vehicles; this communications relay plan came in response to a request from commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Ashton Carter, Pentagon acquisition czar, this month approved Northrop Grumman’s production of Lot 8 vehicles, including two Block 30s (which will carry the Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload) and three Block 40s, which will provide ground surveillance using the Northrop Grumman/Raytheon Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) active electronically scanned array radar.
Northrop Grumman rolled out the first Block 40 in Palmdale, Calif., on June 25. The Block 40 program, however, continues to suffer setbacks.
Carter, in his June 12 acquisition decision memorandum, says he is “concerned” about the 32-month delay in the Block 40 IOT&E plan. The delay is largely due to snags in MP-RTIP development. Though two radar modes completed testing on a surrogate aircraft, two new modes still must complete this milestone. Testing of these concurrent modes, which maximize the efficiency of the radar to collect various data simultaneously, should be complete on the Proteus surrogate aircraft by the second quarter of FY ’10, Air Force officials say.
Carter also directs the Air Force to shore up its management plan for the program, and requests options for how to field Block 40 sooner. Commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan are now suffering a shortfall of ground-surveillance capability.
A cut to the FY ’10 budget would further delay the ability to field these systems to support war efforts, the program source says.
Carter also expresses concern about an increase to the average procurement unit cost (APUC) of the air vehicles. The APUC in 2007 of $90.8 million has gone up to $102.4 million, according to Air Force officials. This figure includes all program costs (nonrecurring production, testing, hardware and software, technical data, contractor services and support and training equipment, for example). The largest contributor to the increase is the cost of depot stand ups for Global Hawk sensors and readiness spares, the service officials say. A new cost estimate is now under review.
Photo: Northrop Grumman
