Northrop Grumman [NOC] has been awarded a follow-on contract by the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to capture and process digital multispectral imagery for the 2010 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) supporting the delivery of effective agricultural programs, including crop monitoring and compliance.

The NAIP contract is a multiple-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract originally awarded in 2007.

The contract is an example of how Northrop Grumman has been expanding its ability to collect and analyze geospatial data beyond just the traditional defense and intelligence worlds. The company is positioning itself as an end-to-end geospatial services provider.

“This follow-on contract is a testament to our performance over the previous three years and is evidence of our commitment to supporting the NAIP mission,” said John Olesak, vice president of integrated intelligence systems for Northrop Grumman Information Systems. “Not only will this assist in protecting America’s agricultural future, but it will also be an invaluable asset for disaster preparedness, forest inventories, and urban planning.”

Since 2007 the company has mapped 14 states through the NAIP contract. With this follow-on award, Northrop Grumman will collect and process over 386,000 square miles of approximately 31,000 digital orthoimages across 11 additional states.

The work on this contract will be performed throughout the United States. Northrop Grumman’s teammates include Digital Aerial Solutions LLC, and Pixxures Inc, Geospatial Division of XeDAR Corp.