Although the . . . award announced Tuesday is for the initial development of the plane, the contract could ultimately be worth several billion as the Navy buys as many as 44 unmanned aircraft. The president's 2008 budget request includes $2.3 billion for research, development, test and evaluation for the program plus another $780 million for procurement.
And the Australian government, which has invested in the BAMS
development program through a $15 million agreement with the U.S. Navy, is also expected to become a major customer for the new planes.
Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman won the competition with a version of its Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, which is primarily used by the Air Force. Boeing had partnered with General Dynamics
Corp., maker of the Gulfstream corporate jet, to offer an unmanned version of the Gulfstream G550. And Lockheed partnered with General
Atomics, maker of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, to offer the
Mariner, a version of the Predator with longer wings, more fuel and more capacity.
