An announcement is expected soon that NATO will buy eight Global Hawks from Northrop Grumman in a deal worth more than $1.3 billion. NATO is targeting a 2012 entry-into-service for the airborne alliance ground surveillance fleet (AGS). NATO originally planned a mix of Airbus manned aircraft and Global Hawks, but opted for an all-unmanned system using Global Hawks. (Sources: Florida Today, 01/14/08; FlightGlobal, 01/15/09) Portions of the Global Hawk fuselage are built at the Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss. The program is managed in Melbourne, Fla.
