San Diego is helping bring the Navy into the 21st century with new technology being incorporated into unmanned combat aircraft.
"This will change naval aviation forever," said Scott Winship, the vice president of Navy Unmanned Combat Aircraft Systems.
The new unmanned drone can also conduct surveillance. It will allow the Navy to see and monitor areas it previously could not. For the men and women serving overseas, it will mean being able to see threats long before they get to the ship.
"We think it can operate at 50 hours, 100 hours," Winship said. "We don't know what the actual limits are. If you can refuel them, the computers don't get tired, and they don't need a break, and you can keep them away from the ship for a long, long time."
Northrop Grumman also has new firefighting technology that was not available during the 2003 Cedar Fire, but was used successfully during the 2007 Firestorm.
The company's Global Hawks, kept up at Beale Air Force Base, were brought down to take surveillance photos, which helped firefighters prepare for the next day's fight. They also can supply images in real time to continuously fight the fire.
