Northrop Grumman will begin production of four RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft systems for the Republic of Korea’s air force. The systems will provide wide-area intelligence gathering capabilities to military commanders. Under a contract awarded Dec. 16, the company will work with the U.S. Air Force to deliver the systems starting in 2018. The contract is for four aircraft, two ground stations and supporting equipment. It’s the first time Global Hawk has been sold to an allied nation in the Asia-Pacific region under the Foreign Military Sales process. Central fuselage work on all variants of Global Hawk is done in Moss Point, Miss. (Source: Northrop Grumman via Globe Newswire, 02/02/15)