Drones ≠ Cheap

by Mark Thompson, Time Magazine
click here for original article

It was just over a year ago that Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the Pentagon was scrapping one version of the RQ-4 Global Hawk spy drone after the Defense Department discovered it was cheaper to fly such missions with the human-piloted U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.

“We had hoped to replace the U-2 with the Global Hawk, but the Global Hawk became expensive,” Carter said. “And that’s the fate of things that become too expensive in a resource-constrained environment.”

He must have had contracts like this one, awarded Monday, in mind when he made that statement:

Northrop Grumman Corp., Aerospace Systems, San Diego, Calif., (FA8528-12-C-0003-PZ0001) is being awarded a $433,518,021 (estimated) cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for contractor logistics support for the RQ-4 Global Hawk fielded weapon system. The location of the performance is San Diego, Calif. Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WIKBA, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

We asked the Air Force how many aircraft and flight hours this contract supports — something Battleland suggests should be contained in all such announcements — and will update with that information once obtained.