Northrop Grumman to support South Korea RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has signed a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to provide contractor logistics support (CLS) to the Republic of Korea’s high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (HUAV) fleet.

An RQ-4 Global Hawk taxis on the flightline after a sortie an inspection at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia September 18, 2015
(Credit: U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Christopher Boitz)

The support for DAPA and the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) include: timely site activation in South Korea; complete training packages for pilots, operators and maintainers of the system; and a team of subject matter experts to provide seamless on-site and reach-back CLS support.

“Northrop Grumman will build on our successful support of the U.S. Air Force’s Global Hawk and U.S. Navy’s Triton heritage to provide high-quality sustainment support to the ROK HUAV fleet,” said John Parker, vice president, global logistics and modernization, Northrop Grumman Technology Services. “By leveraging our proven performance with the U.S. fleet and the introduction of systems to other global operators, we offer DAPA and the ROKAF a high-quality, low-risk, responsive services package.”

“Northrop Grumman is honored to have the opportunity to work with DAPA on the HUAV CLS program,” said Dong Ha, chief executive, Northrop Grumman South Korea. “We look forward to forming a long-term partnership on this important HUAV sustainment program that will help ensure the safety and security of the Republic of Korea.”
 
The Global Hawk system is building on its heritage of innovation, modernizing its current capabilities by integrating new technologies that enhance capabilities, performance and reliability. In active operation with the U.S. Air Force since 2001, Global Hawk has amassed more than 250,000 flight hours with missions flown in support of military and humanitarian operations. With the ability to fly at high altitudes for greater than 30 hours, Global Hawk is designed to gather near-real-time, high-resolution imagery of large areas of land in all types of weather – day or night. Global Hawk is also a multiple winner of the prestigious Roche Sustainment Excellence Award, which is a testament to the program’s ability to reduce significant costs while driving performance well beyond specified values.