JAPAN/FILE: Northrop Grumman promotes Global Hawk drone in Tokyo to spark Japanese government interest

Record ID: 184840

  • Title: JAPAN/FILE: Northrop Grumman promotes Global Hawk drone in Tokyo to spark Japanese government interest
  • Date: 25th March 2010
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 24, 2010) (REUTERS) NORTHROP GRUMMAN'S UNMANNED AIRCRAFT "GLOBAL HAWK" ON DISPLAY IN HALL MORE OF GLOBAL HAWK ON DISPLAY GLOBAL HAWK WITH JOURNALISTS TAKING PICTURES AND FILMING CAMERA MODULE ON GLOBAL HAWK GLOBAL HAWK AND ENGINE GLOBAL HAWK WING CURTIS ORCHARD, VICE PRESIDENT JAPAN, NORTHROP GRUMMAN, SHOWING GLOBAL HAWK TO JOURNALISTS GLOBAL HAWK WITH "US AIR FORCE" WRITTEN ON SIDE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CURTIS ORCHARD, VICE PRESIDENT JAPAN, NORTHROP GRUMMAN, SAYING: "In January of 2006, the minister of defense at that time formally announced that they would introduce this capability or a like capability. Currently Japan is still studying its options and we are here to support that study." ORCHARD BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) CURTIS ORCHARD, VICE PRESIDENT JAPAN, NORTHROP GRUMMAN, SAYING: "The benefits for the government of Japan in the future may be to take advantage of the longer range, long-endurance assets to augment existing manned aircraft capabilities they have that have to come and go several times over the same 24 hour period, where as the Global Hawk just stays."
  • Embargoed: 9th April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVABLNQ6DT86O0Y9PZM5YKTY71I7
  • Story Text: Northrop Grumman displays its Global Hawk drone in Tokyo with hopes of sparking Japanese government interest.
    Military aircraft manufacturer Northrop Grumman displayed a full-size mock-up of the Global Hawk surveillance drone on Wednesday (March 24) in Tokyo with hopes of sparking Japanese government interest.
    The model has been touring the Pacific region for the past two years and its final stop is in Japan. Officials are hoping Japan's Defence Ministry will consider purchasing one in the 2011 budget with an eye to enhancing the country's reconnaissance capability in the Asia Pacific region.
    The Global Hawk drone does not carry weapons but carries high-resolution cameras and sensors which are used for surveillance purposes.
    The U.S. military has used Global Hawk drones for operations in such countries as Afghanistan and Haiti.
    Japan's interest in acquiring the Global Hawk stretches back to before the aircraft was put into wide service.
    "In January of 2006, the minister of defense at that time formally announced that they would introduce this capability or a like capability. Currently Japan is still studying its options and we are here to support that study," said Northrop Grumman's Japan vice president Curtis Orchard.
    "The benefits for the government of Japan in the future may be to take advantage of the longer range, long-endurance assets to augment existing manned aircraft capabilities they have that have to come and go several times over the same 24 hour period, where as the Global Hawk just stays," Orchard said.
    The Global Hawk drone costs approximately $30 million USD for the actual aircraft. The sensor packages and ground control systems cost extra although countries such as Germany have built their own sensor packages for the platform.
    Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, maker of the Predator UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and AeroVironment currently dominate the market for drones but players such as Boeing, which created a separate UAV division last year, are trying to gain market share in the rapidly growing industry.
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