Navy to unveil first MQ-4C, stays course after UAV crash

The Navy and contractor Northrop Grumman will unveil the first production version of its MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aerial vehicle June 14 despite the crash of one of its demonstrators three days earlier on Maryland's Eastern Shore, reports Bob Brewin at NextGov.

The debut of the MQ-4C BAMS, which is equipped with systems tailored specifically for the Navy, such as 360-degree, field-of-view multifunction active sensors, will take place at an Air Force-owned manufacturing plant in Palmdale, Calif., said Northrop Grumman spokesman Warren Comer.

The Air Force modified demonstrator Global Hawk that crashed during tests at Naval Air Station Patuxent River June 11 did not include other systems incorporated into BAMS, such as a 360-degree electro-optical-infrared sensor, advanced flight-control computers and wideband satellite communications systems, the story said.