Future and present UAVs Edited by Patricia J. Parmalee Aviation Week & Space Technology February 26, 2007 In an indication that the Pentagon's interest in ever more effective UAVs is unwavering, SAIC received a $32-million contract to demonstrate long-endurance, airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) payloads for combat operations. Moreover, terms of the agreement also require maturation from laboratory prototype to an acquisition-ready system. However, the ISR system is to be applicable to a range of suitable aircraft. The effort requires installation of the equipment and flight testing both in the U.S. and overseas. The mission equipment is to be hardened, refined and packaged to support high operation rates. And the Air Force tapped Northrop Grumman for long-lead items for low-rate production of two RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft, three RQ-4 Block 40s with advanced MP-RTIP electronically scanned array radars, a mission control element, a launch recovery element and two enhanced integration sensor suites, plus spares. This contract is valued at $5 million. (Archives)