In an attempt to catapult themselves into a competitive position in the Pentagon's contest to design and build what could amount to hundreds of unmanned combat aircraft for the U.S. Navy and Air Force, Northrop Grumman has teamed with Lockheed Martin to re-create the team that won the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. "JSF set the tone for this," agreed Scott Winship, Northrop Grumman's joint unmanned combat air system (J-UCAS) program manager. Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems plans to offer a stealthy, unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) that can gather intelligence or attack a foe with electronic or explosive weapons. Officials hint that esoteric tasks such as jamming, communications intercept and computer network attack are all possible from an aircraft that can operate near the sources it is trying to disable or mine for information. The Pentagon also has acknowledged that UCAVs are the preferred platform to carry high-power microwave weapons that are expected to be the first line of defense against weapons of mass destruction production and storage. Large, momentary spikes of energy can damage electronic components and scramble computer memories.
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