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

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Airman 1st Class Bryant Vides-Perlera, a crew chief assigned to the 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, pulls chocks beside an RQ-4 Global Hawk as it’s towed across the flight line on Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., on Oct. 23, 2020 (Picture source: U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Elora J. McCutcheon)

The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract includes task orders for specific UAS modernization services in line with the U.S. Air Force’s Global Hawk program, the Department of Defense said on November 25. 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, California, 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.