Navy's quest for high-altitude drone attracts major firms

A major defense contractor announced Wednesday that it will compete to supply the Navy with a new high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, the contract for which is expected next year.

Officials of Northrop Grumman Corp. said they will propose a version of their Global Hawk drone to win the contract for the Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program.

"Drawing upon six decades of experience successfully producing maritime surveillance and unmanned aerial systems, we will offer a solution that meets the critical needs of our Navy customers and helps them achieve their goal for a transformational maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance warfighting capability," said Robert Mitchell, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems vice president of special programs.

The BAMS UAV is intended to provide constant maritime surveillance to defense forces using enhanced command and control capabilities and flying at an altitude of more than 40,000 feet. Mitchell said Northrop's proposal is based on capabilities of the Global Hawk Block 20 UAV, which can carry 3,000 pounds of sensors and equipment, fly up to 60,000 feet, and survey more than 40,000 square miles within 24 hours.

The Los Angeles-based company plans to conduct the first operational flight test of the Block 20 drone in early December, said Gene Fraser, vice president of unmanned systems.

The Navy is expected to issue a draft request for proposals for the program late this month or early next month, and make a final contract award next year. The San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., are also expected to propose a drone for the competition.

Northrop believes its drone will be competitive because it can stay in the air for long periods of time, meaning the Navy does not have to buy many systems, Mitchell said. He added that he does not expect the program to include a requirement for U.S. homeland security, such as surveying U.S. coastlines and sending information to the Coast Guard. But he said Northrop's proposal could be adapted for homeland security purposes if the government decides to do so.

Company officials also defended the costs of operating UAVs. The Homeland Security Department's inspector general issued a report last December concluding that UAVs "remain very costly to operate and require a significant amount of logistical support as well as specialized operator and maintenance training."

Fraser said the total cost to the Defense Department to operate unmanned drones "should be" cheaper than operating manned aircraft when "the deployed footprint" is taken into account, which includes the cost of deploying support personnel, equipment and fuel. He said the Defense Department can operate drones around the world from sites within the United States. The BAMS UAV is expected to be fully operational by 2013.