14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully delivered a new Global Hawk unmanned aerial system (UAS) to the United States Air Force (USAF) ahead of schedule and on cost, on February 14. Northrop has thus far constructed 42 of these massive drones, 32 of which are operated by the USAF.
The newly-delivered aircraft is part of the Lot 10 contract the two organizations signed, which includes Block 30 and Block 40 Global Hawks. Northrop still has to deliver a Block 30 and a Block 40 UAS this year, marking the completion of this contract. The new drone was handed over to the USAF during a ceremony held at the Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB) north of Emerado, North Dakota.
The GBAFB received its first Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS on May 26, 2011, and the aircraft has remained assigned to Detachment 1, 9th Reconnaissance Wing ever since. The USAF is expected to sign a new contract, Lot 11, for three additional RQ-4s later this summer. The aircraft will most likely be delivered in 2015 or 2016.
“Global Hawk program performance excellence is a core focus of our efforts. Delivering Global Hawk to our Air Force partners early is a good indicator of our solid performance. We look forward to continuing the reduction of Global Hawk's total mission costs while providing unparalleled capabilities,” says the Director of the Global Hawk program at Northrop, Mick Jaggers.