Northrop RQ-4 Global Hawk

$302.9M to Northrop Grumman for 5 USAF RQ-4 Global Hawks

The RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have provided invaluable intelligence to US troops in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan over the years.
In its first year of use in Afghanistan, the RQ-4 provided [pdf] more than 17,000 high-resolution images, flying more than 60 missions and over 1,200 combat hours. In Iraq, the system flew only 5% of the US Air Force’s high altitude reconnaissance sorties, but accounted for more than 55% of the time-sensitive targeting imagery generated to support strike missions.
To maintain a fresh supply of Global Hawks, the Air Force is ordering 2 Block 30 RQ-4s and 3 next-generation Block 40 RQ-4s from Northrop Grumman for $302.9 million…

RQ-4 Block 40
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Under the Lot 7 production contract, Northrop Grumman will build 2 Block 30 systems and 3 Block 40 systems for the 303d Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH, which manages the RQ-4 program for the Air Force.
The award also includes a ground station with launch and recovery and mission control elements, plus 2 additional sensor suites that will be retrofitted into previous production aircraft.
In 2010, the company will deliver 2 Block 30 aircraft equipped with the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS) that provides electro-optical/infrared and synthetic aperture radar imaging capabilities. These aircraft will also be retrofitted to incorporate the production Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload (ASIP) for high and low band electronic signals collection.
The Lot 7 contract also includes the 1st production Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) payloads, which will be contractually awarded later this year. The MP-RTIP is an advanced air-to-surface/ air-to-air radar system on the Block 40 RQ-4. The company will also deliver two EISS suites for use on aircraft delivered earlier. The contract runs through 2011.
Global Hawk can fly at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet for more than 32 hours and send imagery and signals intelligence data to US air, ground, and sea forces.
Global Hawks are currently flown in 4 locations: Beale Air Force Base, home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and the RQ-4’s main operating base, in Northern California; Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California; Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland; and a forward operating location in support of overseas contingency operations in the Iraq and Afghanistan.

Northrop Grumman and US Air Force's Next-Generation of Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft Takes Flight



The first Block 40 configuration of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) successfully completed its first flight on Nov. 16.
Designated AF-18, the advanced capability aircraft flew for approximately two hours from Northrop Grumman Corporation's manufacturing facility in Palmdale, California to Edwards Air Force Base.
"AF-18, the eleventh of the next-generation Global Hawk Block 20/30/40s to arrive at Edwards Air Force Base, performed beautifully," said George Guerra, Northrop Grumman vice president of HALE systems.
"This flight marks the continuation of our Global Hawk flight test program, and is a testament to the team comprised of people from Northrop Grumman and the Air Force who have worked so hard to make this happen."
This first flight also marks the end of an era, as Global Hawk production acceptance activities will transition in the near future from Edwards Air Force Base to Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, improving efficiency and flow of company products. In addition to AF-18, a Block 30 aircraft, AF-19, was recently delivered to the Air Force and is one of 11 major deliveries by the program within the last three months.
Steve Amburgey, Global Hawk program director for the 303d Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, noted that the flight of this aircraft is a significant milestone for the Global Hawk program.
"AF-18 is the first of 15 Block 40 Global Hawk aircraft scheduled for fielding to Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, in 2010," said Amburgey. "The aircraft will carry an advanced, all-weather multi-platform radar technology insertion program (MP-RTIP) sensor, providing game-changing situational awareness for our warfighters with its unprecedented capability to detect, track and identify stationary and moving targets."
Global Hawk's range, endurance and large payload capabilities are well suited to provide persistent surveillance of the enemy with MP-RTIP. Flying at altitudes up to 60,000 feet for more than 32 hours per sortie at speeds approaching 340 knots, the MP-RTIP-equipped Block 40 Global Hawk can persistently see through most type of weather, day or night. As the world's first fully autonomous HALE UAS, Global Hawk is the platform of choice for a wide variety of sensors, foreign and domestic, meeting the global need for persistent ISR.
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the Global Hawk and MP-RTIP programs and continues to move these technologies forward under the stewardship of the Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and the Electronic Systems Center, located at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. Northrop Grumman's Norwalk, Conn., facility is the principal MP-RTIP radar developer along with principal subcontractor, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, El Segundo. The MP-RTIP sensor has completed radar system level performance verification on a surrogate aircraft, and will be integrated into AF-18 for operational evaluation.
Northrop Grumman is also prime contractor for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (NATO AGS) system, in development at the Melbourne, Florida facility of the Aerospace Systems Battle Management & Engagement Systems division, in which the Block 40 RQ-4 is a key component.
Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk program is based at its Aerospace Systems' Unmanned Systems Development Center in San Diego, Calif. The company performs Global Hawk sub-assembly work at its Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., and final assembly at its Antelope Valley Manufacturing Center in Palmdale.
The principal Global Hawk industry team includes: Aurora Flight Sciences, Bridgeport, West Va. (V-tail assembly and other composite structures); L-3 Communications, Salt Lake City (communication system); Raytheon Company, Waltham, Mass. (ground station); Rolls-Royce Corporation, Indianapolis (engine); and Vought Aircraft Industries, Dallas (wing).

NASA Global Hawk continues flight expansion in preparation for Environmental Research Missions

Northrop Grumman announced today that the NASA Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has completed 10.4 hours for pilot training and flight characterization in preparation for the Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) Campaign set to start this spring. Five flawless flights have been completed since the first flight of Air Vehicle Six (AV-6) on 23 October. Prior to this, the aircraft had not flown in more than 6 1/2 years.
Currently, AV-6 is being modified to carry eleven different earth science sensors in preparation for the GloPac Campaign. Missions will be based from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base and be conducted over remote areas of the Pacific and Arctic. Initial flights to test these sensors will begin in March.
AV-6 is one of two Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration Global Hawk aircraft that were transferred from the US. Air Force to NASA Dryden. Both are being operated under the Space Act Agreement signed in 2008 that allows NASA and Northrop Grumman to share the aircraft for various operations. NOAA is also partnered with NASA to provide appropriate payloads for environmental science missions. The second aircraft, AV-1, is being readied for flight later this year.
As part of the program, Northrop Grumman designed a new UAS mission control center that is married to a payload station and housed in the Global Hawk Operations Center (GHOC) located at Edwards Air Force Base. A distributed set of workstations are configured with specific functionality to initiate, monitor and track aircraft operations, as well as to collect and distribute data from various onboard sensors. The payload workstations are configured to manage numerous scientific payloads simultaneously which will be vital during the GloPac Campaign.
The GloPac Campaign provides a unique opportunity to extend operator evaluation of the control system, which is at the heart of the GHOC. Analyzing the multi-function architecture during operations will further the understanding and development of mission management and control systems for various heterogeneous UAS. Lessons learned on training and mission execution will be considered for inclusion in future programs where government customers are looking for interoperability and commonality to meet mission management requirements.