Northrop Grumman wins $517M blimp contract

Northrop Grumman Corp.'s unit in Bethpage has been awarded a U.S. Army contract worth $517 million to build three unmanned blimps, each the length of a football field, for surveillance work in Afghanistan, the company announced Monday.

The contract, awarded to the battle management and engagement systems division that is headquartered in Bethpage but also includes major facilities in Florida, marks the first time the aerospace giant has been asked to build such an airship.

In the civilian world, blimps are commonly seen hovering over football stadiums to help provide television coverage of games.

Northrop Grumman said in an announcement after stock markets closed that the airships will be designed in Bethpage, built at facilities in Oregon that the company plans to rent, and will be ready to fly in about 18 months.

To remain safe from enemy gunfire, the airships will be capable of flying at altitudes of about 20,000 feet. They will be about 308 feet long and 84 feet tall and will be able to remain aloft for about three weeks at a time to aid Army troops in Afghanistan.

Loren Thompson, an analyst for the Lexington Institute, a military research firm in Arlington, Va., said the Army has been increasing its use of airships in Afghanistan in recent years.

"They're expanding the program," Thompson said. "They need more of them." Some fly as high as 60,000 feet.

Dianne Baumert-Moyik, a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman in Bethpage, said one Long Island company, Telephonics Corp. of Farmingdale, is a subcontractor on the project. Telephonics provides communications systems for military and commercial airplanes.

In all, she said, 42 companies in 18 states are working on the program. Another partner is Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd. of the United Kingdom. The Northrop Grumman airships will be based on Hybrid Air's HAV304 design. Baumert-Moyik said the program is not expected to result in any new jobs. About 2,000 people work at the company's Bethpage facility.