Northrop Grumman Secures Massive $4.8 Billion Deal to Enhance Global Hawk Drone Operations
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. a substantial contract focused on the development, modernization, retrofit, and sustainment of all Air Force Global Hawk variants.
This significant agreement, valued at over $4.8 billion, encompasses comprehensive management, including programmatic, business, and technical domains. The engineering efforts will address crucial areas such as configuration management, data management, and improving reliability, availability, and maintainability.
“Further and more detailed guidance will be elaborated in each delivery order/task order statement of work and performance work statement regarding these and other tasks,” the Department of Defense stated. “This contract grants the flexibility needed to support the extensive array of activities linked to the Global Hawk program.”
According to the contract, operational tasks will take place in San Diego, California, with an expected completion date set for September 30, 2030.
Northrop Grumman highlights that the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) stands out as the leading provider of persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data.
Capable of soaring at high altitudes for over 30 hours, the Global Hawk is engineered to capture near-real-time, high-resolution imagery across vast territories under all weather conditions, day and night. In addition to intelligence gathering, parts of the Global Hawk fleet support both air and ground users through communications relay services. Notably, the EQ-4B Global Hawk is equipped with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) payload, providing critical support to warfighters.
The Global Hawk has logged over 250,000 flight hours, undertaking missions in support of military operations across Iraq, Afghanistan, North Africa, and the broader Asia-Pacific region. This system offers a cost-effective and versatile platform for integrating multiple sensor payloads, delivering essential mission-critical information to a diverse range of global users.
