MOSS POINT, Miss., March 27 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman's new assembly plant in Mississippi has turned out its first fuselage for the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV.
The fuselage for the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, that was rolled out of the Moss Point factory was also the first of the Lot 30 Global Hawks, which will be the first RQ-4s to carry the cutting-edge EISS signals intelligence payload.
The three sections of the fuselage were put together at Moss Point and will be shipped to Palmdale, California for assembly.
"The first Block 30 Global Hawk is coming alive in front of our very eyes," Northrop Vice President Jarry Madigan said during this week's roll-out ceremony, adding that, "The Global Hawk program has been on cost and on schedule for 15 consecutive months."
The U.S. Air Force has been putting the Global Hawk to good use in Iraq and Afghanistan where it has collected thousands of aerial images for use by ground commanders. Northrop said in a news release Tuesday the EISS, or enhanced integrated sensor suite, and Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload are designed to detect and track down radar and "other types of electronics and communications signals" presumably radio and even cell phone transmissions among enemy forces.
Northrop said the first Block 30 Global Hawks would be delivered to the Air Force later this year. In the meantime, the staff at Moss Point has already started work on the first Block 40 RQ-4, which carries an updated radar surveillance package.
