Monday, November 30, 2009

NATO to fund spy system

NAPLES, Italy - Fifteen NATO nations will fund an air surveillance command and control system to be located at Naval Air Station Sigonella, a shared Italian-U.S. Navy base in Sicily. The Air Ground Surveillance system consists of eight Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. The ground portion will be developed by Canadian and European industry, according to a NATO news release. The NATO surveillance project is expected to cost between $1.5 billion to $2.3 billion. Plans are for the project to be in place by 2012. (Source: Stars and Stripes, 12/01/09) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are made in part in Moss Point, Miss.