South Korea has wanted to buy four Global Hawk surveillance aircraft and plans to ask the US again for the unmanned aerial vehicles during an upcoming round of security talks, an anonymous Seoul official told the Korea Times. The South Korean Defense Ministry initially asked the US for the Global Hawks in June 2005 to increase its surveillance capabilities against North Korea, but the Pentagon rejected the request because of technology transfer concerns. The ministry again asked the Pentagon for the drones in early August, but hasn’t yet gotten a response on this latest request, according to the Times. Earlier this year, Pacific Air Force chief, Gen. Paul Hester, expressed his support for internationalizing the Global Hawk.
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc. and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems matching $17.7 million contracts for an "Off-Board Sensing Station,” which is an unmanned aircraft that would extend a manned fighter’s sensing range and also potentially carry additional weapons for that aircraft. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts…