Northrop Grumman's new spy plane to be unveiled today

LOS ANGELES - Aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corp. has developed a new spy plane that can listen in on phone conversations, use high-powered radar and shoot live video footage as it flies at 30,000 feet above the Earth, it was reported today.

The spy plane, expected to be unveiled today, would operate with or without a pilot, according to the Los Angeles Times and Aviation Week.

U.S. military aircraft have been designed to either have a pilot or be an unmanned drone but Northrop's new plane, the Firebird, can switch from being a traditional aircraft to a drone with just a few modifications.

The Century City company is developing the propeller-powered Firebird at its own expense, betting that the hybrid plane will appeal to the Pentagon.

The Firebird would compete for Pentagon contracts with the Predator and Reaper drones, which are made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and have both become ubiquitous in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan.

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