Grand Forks AFB, N.D., is slated to receive its first of 22 Block 40 Global Hawk high-altitude, long endurance remotely piloted aircraft by next summer, a Northrop Grumman official said during the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference. George Guerra, Northrop Grumman’s vice president of high altitude long endurance, said the block 40 aircraft will have the high performance Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program sensor, allowing the aircraft to see through virtually any type of weather, day or night, providing “game-changing situational awareness” for troops on the ground. The company plans to finalize sensor integration and conduct the first flight of the full Block 40 system later this year. Current plans call for all block 40 Global Hawks to be based at Grand Forks.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
