The US Department of Defense (DoD) has contracted Northrop Grumman to establish in-country support for Japan’s RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme.
The first of three Global Hawk HALE UAVs for Japan made its maiden flight on 15 April. (Northrop Grumman)
Announced on 29 April, the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) USD58.5 million award will see Northrop Grumman Defense Services in Arizona provide contractor logistics support services to include, but not limited to, in-country personnel, mission planning, contractor field teams, contractor inventory control, reach back support, and software maintenance.
Work will be performed in Misawa Air Base, Japan, and is expected to be completed by 30 September 2022.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) is to receive three Block 30i (international) variants of the Global Hawk that are due to be delivered in 2022. News of the support contract came two weeks after the first Japanese Global Hawk made its maiden flight from Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale facility in California on 15 April.
Once in JASDF service, the Global Hawk will support Japan’s missile defence systems, as well as perform observation, reconnaissance, and patrol operations. According to the US Air Force, the Global Hawk has a range of nearly 25,000 km, an endurance of more than 34 hours, a service ceiling of 60,000 ft, and is able to cover approximately 7 million km2 in a single mission.
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