Northrop Grumman is very happy with how this year’s NATO summit in Chicago turned out.

 

The defense contractor officially closed a deal with the alliance for the purchase of five Block 40 Global Hawk drones. The sale will earn Northrop Grumman $1.7 billion.

 

NATO commanders were apparently pleased with the performance of the U.S. military’s Global Hawks for surveillance during the bombing campaign in Libya last year, prompting the alliance to purchase some of their own unmanned planes.

 

Thirteen of the 28 NATO member countries will help pay for drones: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and, of course, the United States.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

NATO Signs $1.7B Global Hawk Contract (by Kate Brannen, Defense News)