The U.S. Air Force issued a contract award of more than $71 million to Northrop Grumman to provide sensors and payload systems upgrades for its fleet of Global Hawk unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
(Global Hawk Block 30. Photo, courtesy of Northrop Grumman.)
According to the Department of Defense, the award is an add-on to a previous Lot 10 contract for block load and production acceptance infrastructure.
“This contract modification covers a 22-month period of performance from March 2013 through the end of December 2014, bridging the current Lot 10 contract through completion. It will provide engineering support for the production and final acceptance testing of the Lot 10 aircraft and sensors,” said George Guerra, vice president of Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk program.
Under the contract, Northrop Grumman will provide airborne signals intelligence payload (ASIP), multi-platform radar technology sensors and three ASIP retrofits for Global Hawk aircraft purchased in previous lots.
The air force reported a mission-capable rate of nearly 78 percent for Global Hawk UAS operated during fiscal year 2012.
Related: Unmanned Systems News
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