Drone Maker Can't Keep Pace With War Needs, Report Says
USA Today (09/22/08) Vanden Brook, Tom

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the maker of Predator and Reaper UAS, has been unable to keep up with its contract workload amid skyrocketing demand, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said. "It's a concern because the Army and Air Force are trying to surge their production," says Lexington Institute military analyst Loren Thompson, adding, "If General Atomics can't keep up with the demand, war fighters can't get the intelligence they need." The GAO report's findings were disputed by General Atomics, which said it is one month ahead on some contracts and that it has so far produced 300 Predator aircraft and 50 Reaper aircraft. According to Tom Cassidy, president of General Atomics, "These major efforts and activities have been accomplished by an extremely efficient and innovative company staffed by exceptional employees. Such monumental accomplishments could not have been made possible if all the criticisms detailed in the GAO's report were true." The GAO pu t together the report after General Atomics and an affiliated company filed a protest after losing the bidding for a UAV contract with the Navy. According to Air Force budget documents, General Atomics took 10 months to deliver 24 Predators that were ordered in July of 2006, while it will take 17 months for the company to deliver another 24 aircraft ordered in April of this year. "General Atomics is a good engineering company that has had problems transitioning to high volume," says former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne.
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