COVER STORY: Ground truth - Bad European economy makes NATO surveillance proposal a tough call

摘要

For nearly two decades, NATO members have dreamed of fielding a fleet of ground surveillance aircraft that would be similar to the U.S Air Force's Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft in their ability to map features beneath the clouds and spot moving vehicles. After a 15-year struggle and despite economic turmoil in some European countries, NATO is in negotiations with Northrop Grumman on an estimated 1 billion euro (dollar1.2 billion) contract to provide the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Core Capability -- a small fleet of radar-equipped Global Hawk unmanned aircraft whose coverage would be supplemented by planes owned by member countries.