Northrop Grumman lands potential $4.8B Air Force drone modernization

Contract to run through 2030

Published November 30, 2020 by Rich Griset

Northrop Grumman Corp. has received a potential $4.8 billion contract to update, refurbish and sustain the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial systems.

The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Falls Church-based company includes task orders for specific UAS modernization services in line with the Air Force’s Global Hawk program, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

Contract work in support of the UAS and its variants cover various activities including program management, engineering, analysis, overseas contingency operations support, fielding assistance, logistics services, facilities modification, quality assurance and requirements specification management.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center will obligate multiple fiscal-year appropriations for the sole-sourced award. Northrop will perform work under the IDIQ contract in San Diego through Sept. 30, 2030. Since 2001, the Air Force has deployed Global Hawk to support long-distance operations such as intelligence gathering, emergency response, search-and-rescue and weather forecasting.

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