Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a $101 million contract by the U.S. Air Force to begin low-rate initial production of the Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance reconnaissance system.
Under the contract, Northrop Grumman will provide two Global Hawk air vehicles and the mission control element of the system’s ground station. Seven air vehicles and two of the mission control elements were produced under earlier phases of the program.
The mission control element will be completed in June 2003, followed by the first air vehicle in September. The second air vehicle is scheduled to be completed in December 2003. Work will be performed at company facilities in Palmdale and San Diego, Calif.
The Global Hawk program is managed by the Air Force’s Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Global Hawk, produced by Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems sector, provides battlefield commanders near real-time, high-resolution reconnaissance imagery. Flying at extremely high altitudes, the system can survey large geographic areas with pinpoint accuracy to give military decision-makers the most current information about enemy resources and personnel.
