14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the Northrop Grumman Corporation announce that their company was recently awarded a $114 million (€85 million) advanced procurement contract for the construction of three brand new RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The deal also includes a variety of sensors that will go on the high-tech drones.
The United States Air Force (USAF) uses Global Hawk drones as intelligence gatherers, but also to survey vast tracts of land and to photograph potential targets and threats at high resolution. The new UAV will boost the assets that the USAF can deploy in the field.
One of the main advantages this aircraft has over its competitors is that it can fly for up to 30 hours straight. At the same time, The Global Hawk can seamlessly switch through different roles, such as from a high-altitude reconnaissance plane to a low-altitude target designator.
“This award is especially important because it reaffirms the Air Force's commitment to this safe and cost-effective system, which has been supporting our warfighters for more than 15 years in the U.S. and abroad,” says the Global Hawk UAS Vice President, George Guerra.