Oct 5 2002
ATK has just been awarded a $13 million contract by Vought Aircraft Industries to manufacture composite parts for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system. If options are exercised, the value of the contract could extend to as much as $92 million by 2010.
The initial contract involves the fabrication of graphite epoxy components for the wing section of the unmanned aerial vehicle. These components constitute one of several improvements that are currently being made to allow the vehicle to take on a larger payload.
Specific components to be produced by ATK include upper and lower wing skins (with an overall length of up to 67 feet), spars, ribs, leading edge, control surface and trailing edge components. The first of these components is due for delivery in mid 2004.
The Global Hawk airplane is a high altitude, long endurance, unmanned aerial reconnaissance system that is designed to be able to provide near real time, high resolution imaging of vast areas. Applications are mainly miliary-based.
For more information on aerospace components, click here.