Northrop to Build Spy Plane Plant

Northrop Grumman Corp., the largest producer of unmanned spy planes for the U.S. military, will build a plant in Moss Point, Miss., to assemble and test its new Fire Scout unmanned plane for the Army and Navy.

The 39,000-square-foot facility will initially provide 30 manufacturing jobs, which could grow to as many as 65 as orders increase for the Fire Scout, now in low-rate production for the Navy, Northrop Chief Executive Ronald Sugar said.

The military is increasing spending on unmanned spy planes to provide troops with the latest battlefield information after the aircraft proved valuable in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.