Can you find a list of 1st and 2nd tier suppliers/sub-contractors for
the Boeing/UCAV and Northrop-Grumman/Pegasus unmanned (or uninhabited)
aircraft programs?

Hello Gsr,

I will break this into two parts - first the suppliers for Boeing,
second the suppliers for Northrop/Grumman. The material was collected
from a variety of on line sites which I will include references so you
can get additional information. Companies are listed alphabetically, a
few I have listed as "not sure" based on the data I found for these
groups.

Boeing X-45
===========

Applied Systems Intelligence - mission control station. Mentioned near
the bottom of this document.
http://www.asinc.com/pdfs/Associate_Systems_for_Medical_Practice_Management.pdf


Foam Matrix, Inc. - Produce composite wings. Claim to have been on
CNNfn about a week ago (though I can't find any such reference on
CNN's site).
  http://www.foammatrix.com/news2.htm
  http://www.foammatrix.com/programs.htm

General Electric - engine supplier (F404-102D) to replace Honeywell
F124 engine.
  http://www.aerotechnews.com/starc/2002/051702/business_briefs.html
(first article)

Patriot Machine, Inc. - recognized for "Outstanding Performance" in
August 2000. Fabricating machined parts - no specifics on what.
  http://www.patriot-machine.com/news.htm

Raytheon - radar and related electronic systems.
  http://www.diar.com/data/news02.htm
(news - about 1/3rd of the way down this long document, also mentions
GE again)

Can't tell for sure

Active Controls eXpert - hydraulic controls. A status presention which
includes an organization chart.
http://web-ext2.darpa.mil/DSO/thrust/md/chap/briefings/timchap2000day3/jacques_haunt.pdf

BAE Systems - working to supply a variety of on board electronic
systems including electronic warfare, communications, etc.
  http://www.iews.na.baesystems.com/business/newsletter/03-11-02.pdf
may have had some indirect support through MIITE contract vehicle
  http://www.syncorp.com/miite/teams/t.html

California Institute of Technology - simulations and control
algorithms.
  http://www.cds.caltech.edu/sec/status-12apr02.pdf

Northop/Grumman X-47
====================
  [will enter as a clarification - need more time for research]


Other information
=================

A long article on unmanned vehicles, mentions a number of companies
but does not relate them to specific contracts.
  http://www.defensedaily.com/reports/avionics/previous/0901/0901uav.htm


If this is *not* what you are looking for - please let me know so I
can make adjustments to the answer.
  --Maniac

---

Request for Answer Clarification by gsr-ga on 24 Sep 2002 08:53 PDT

Thanks for your efforts but the information is short of what I am
after. Major weapons developers typically publish comprehensive lists
of their suppliers so that congress can get a feel for how much work
is spread around the country (i.e. How many congressional districts
will suffer if the program was cut). I was able to find such lists for
the F-22 and JSF programs; one in an on-line business journal the
other in a military site. Unfortunately, I haven't been so lucky with
the UCAV's which is why I asked a question. I hope this clarifies my
goal.

gsr

---

Clarification of Answer by maniac-ga on 24 Sep 2002 15:34 PDT

Hello Gsr,

It may be "too soon" for that kind of information (comprehensive
vendor listings) on these two projects. I remember seeing similar
charts at Northrop (my company was a supplier) on other programs as
well. I will refocus my efforts to get that kind of data but I may
have to make some calls during business hours to get some references.
Either way - I will follow up tomorrow with more information.

  --Maniac

My question was to locate a list of suppliers to certain aircraft
development programs. Such list are common tools for manufacturers to
promote the diversity of their supplier base to their congresional
representatives. These lists (often in the form of a US map with the
suppliers located on it) contain dozens of companies. The answer I
recieved was a manually constructed list of less than half a dozen
suppliers gleened from the most common hits on the web. I could have
constructed such a list myself in 10 minutes. The reason I posted the
question for $100 was because finding a real list takes creative
digging and I've hit a wall with regards to ideas for places to look.

Hello Gsr,

I finally received answers from both companies. From Boeing in brief...

Boeing is the prime contractor for the UCAV system demonstration programs.
Subcontractors for the X-45A, the system demonstration air vehicle, include
Honeywell, GEC Marconi, HR Textron, Northrop Grumman, and Foam Matrix.
Suppliers identified for  either the X-45B air vehicle or an operational
UCAV include Textron, Raytheon, GE Aircraft Engines and Heroux-Devtek. 

From Northrop-Grumman in brief...

I do not know of any sort of published list that is available to the public.

The latter was the kind of response I expected from both vendors. 

Good luck in your search.
  --Maniac