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Global Hawk has staunch defender in Congress

  • By Defense Systems Staff
  • Mar 30, 2012

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, says he will recommend continuing funding for the Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aircraft, which the Air Force plans to put into storage as a key part of a comprehensive budget-cutting effort, reports Aviation Week.

“I think it’s wrong to mothball 18 of them in the desert ... [the Global Hawk] represents the future,” Moran says, adding that the Air Force’s decision to continue to operate U-2 aircraft “largely represents the past.”

Air Force officials estimate cutting the Global Hawk Block 30 would yield $2.5 billion in savings over five years. They contend the U-2 has better electro-optic/infrared sensor and signal capabilities than the Global Hawk Block 30.

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