Northrop begins BAMS production

MOSS POINT, Miss. - Northrop Grumman has begun work on the first MQ-4 Broad Area Maritime Surveillance drone at the company's Moss Point facility. The Global Hawk BAMS aircraft is the first of about 40 of the high-altitude spy drones that will serve the Navy. It's designed to work with the Navy's new P-8 maritime patrol planes. The BAMS UAV is a multi-mission maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system that will support a variety of missions while operating independently or in direct collaboration with fleet assets. The Air Force version of the Global Hawk is the RQ-4. The Unmanned Systems Center at Moss Point does fuselage work on the Global Hawk. (Source: Defense News, Globe Newswire, 09/01/10)