Aircraft
Bams Demonstrator Lost as Definitive Version Rolls Out
The U.S. Navy has been flying demonstrator versions of the Bams  since it was transferred from the Air Force Global Hawk fleet. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
The U.S. Navy has been flying demonstrator versions of the Bams since it was transferred from the Air Force Global Hawk fleet. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)

A demonstrator for the U.S. Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (Bams) UAV crashed near NAS Patuxent River on June 11. The UAV crashed into swampland about 20 miles east of the base and was destroyed, after what the Navy described as a routine flight. The accident came just four days before Northrop Grumman unveiled the first MQ-4C, the full-specification Bams UAV, at Palmdale, Calif.