NEWTOWN, Conn. - Bipartisanship does exist in the U.S. Congress, even in the House of Representatives. Representative Howard "Buck" McKeon, a Californian Republican who heads the House Armed Services Committee, is allied with Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia, to stop the U.S. Air Force from ceasing procurement of the Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
The U.S. Air Force said it planned to cease production of the Block 30 UAV in its FY13 budget request. The existing inventory of Block 30s would be placed in storage. Operations of the Block 30s would not continue beyond the end of 2014. Congress added funding to the budget to keep the Global Hawk in service; the conference committee added $107 million to maintain 21 Block 30 air vehicles.
The two representatives want to assure that the USAF purchases three more Global Hawk UAVs. McKeon and Moran have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel saying the USAF is trying to ignore congressional instructions to make this purchase, according to a report by Reuters News Service.
Source: Forecast Intelligence Center
Associated URL:
http://www.forecastinternational.com
Author: L. Dickerson, Unmanned Vehicles
