The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $433.5 million cost-plus-firm-fixed-fee contract for contractor logistics support for the RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to a March 25 Air Force statement.

Northrop Grumman spokeswoman Gemma Loochkartt said yesterday the work will cover Global Hawk Blocks 20, 30 and 40 and will include fielded air vehicles, engines, payloads, ground segments and support segments for a period of 2.5 years. Loochkartt said the contract will support the current fleet of 38 production Global Hawks that have been completed and delivered to the Air Force so far.

The Global Hawks are a family of high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned systems which provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Block 20 is the first production version, according to Northrop Grumman. Block 30 added signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability while Block 40, currently in development, will sport the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.