WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congressman Kevin Cramer welcomed the announcement Northrop Grumman has signed a lease to become the lead tenant at Grand Forks County’s Grand Sky Technology Park, and Linden P. Blue, President of the Reconnaissance Systems Group at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., will visit the Grand Forks area on July 20, 2015. The various stakeholders from the University of North Dakota, companies like Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, and the UAS test site cements Grand Forks as the epicenter in the dynamic field of unmanned aerial systems or UAS development.
“I am pleased the lease has finally been signed and we can turn the page with certainty. Northrop Grumman’s decision to become the lead tenant at Grand Sky is testament to the hard work and dedication of local officials to attract new high tech opportunities to the area. I’m pleased Linden Blue accepted my invitation to visit Grand Sky and the Grand Forks community on July 20, 2015. I look forward to joining state and local leaders in welcoming Linden to the area to show him the many opportunities we have to offer his impressive company,” said Cramer.
General Atomics is a leading manufacturer of UAS, tactical reconnaissance radars, and surveillance systems. The company produces the MQ-1 Predator which has been named by Smithsonian’s Air & Space magazine as one of the top ten aircraft to change the world and also produces the newer MQ-9 Reaper. Providing essential situational awareness for the warfighter, Predators and Reapers continue to excel in combat missions focusing on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, targeting, forward air control, laser designation, weapons delivery, and bomb damage assessment. The North Dakota Air National Guard currently flies the Predator and Congressman Cramer is working with his colleagues in Congress to have them fly the more capable Reaper. US Customs and Border Protection currently fly unarmed Reapers out of Grand Forks for border protection duty.
The company has over 6,000 employees at multiple facilities in the San Diego area and in the Mojave Desert, just east of Los Angeles.
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