Northrop Grumman recently received an undefinitized contract award valued at more than $71 million for its Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system from the U.S. Air Force. Issued by the Global Hawk Systems Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, 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 the Global Hawk program for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.

"This contract will enable us to continue to provide our troops with Global Hawk's unmatched intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for both domestic and international missions."

The scope of the contract includes support for program management, engineering and flight operations necessary to complete Lot 10 aircraft and sensor deliveries, which will include two Block 30 systems (air vehicles with enhanced integrated sensor suite and Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload, or ASIP, sensors), two Block 40 systems (air vehicles with Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program, or MP-RTIP, sensors), and three ASIP retrofits (sensors installed and flight tested in aircraft purchased in previous lots). Lot 10 deliveries are scheduled for completion by the end of 2014.

The Global Hawk program received the coveted Dr. James G. Roche Sustainment Excellence Award in 2012 for demonstrating the most improved performance in aircraft maintenance and logistics readiness. In fiscal year 2012, Global Hawk operated at a mission-capable rate of nearly 78 percent, exceeding the U.S. Air Force's requirements for 19 consecutive months.

Accumulating nearly 90,000 total flight hours in support of missions throughout the world, Global Hawk can fly for more than 30 hours at an altitude over 60,000 feet. The aircraft provides decision-makers with near-real-time ISR and warfighters with unmatched communications relay capabilities.