A previously undisclosed flaw with the wings of the MQ-4C has surfaced as the U.S. Navy ponder over a decision to clear the unmanned maritime patrol aircraft for low-rate production.
Photo: U.S. Navy
Bloomberg says a subcontractor has been producing composite wing spars with quality issues and the Defense Contract Management Agency issued Northrop Grumman with a Corrective Action Request in May 2013 for “recurring defects” in the component. One year later, the “the issue was elevated to senior Northrop management because of insufficient progress.”
Since then, “extensive progress has been made” to correct those issues, the MQ-4C program manager replied to Bloomberg in an email.
“The Northrop Grumman team, in close collaboration with our Navy customer and industry teammates, has successfully worked through some initial challenges in the areas of early wing production and software, all of which are currently now moving forward to plan,” a company spokesperson told Bloomberg.