Global Hawk UAV

DCS has been awarded a contract to provide advisory and assistance services (A&AS) for the Northrop Grumman-built RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Awarded under the USAF’s acquisition of consolidated enterprise support services (ACCESS) contract vehicle, the foreign military sale (FMS) $6.2m order includes all priced options over a three-year period.

Under the contract, the company will provide administrative, programme management, configuration/data management, engineering, as well as logistical support services for the air force’s FMS programmes.

DCS Corp president and chief operating officer, Dave Russell, said the order represents the company’s first successful bid under the ACCESS contract vehicle.

”I am confident that our employee-owners’ commitment to technical and professional excellence will drive customer satisfaction and lead to further opportunities to support Wright-Patterson AFB customers,” Russell added.

Work under the contract will be carried out at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB), close to the company’s Beavercreek, OH office in Ohio, US.

The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV designed to provide field commanders with high-resolution, near real-time imagery of large geographic areas in support of military, humanitarian and environmental missions.

The remotely piloted system features an air vehicle segment comprising of air vehicles, sensor payloads, avionics and data links, a ground segment made of a launch and recovery element (LRE) and a mission control element (MCE) with embedded ground communications equipment, support element and trained personnel.

Worth an approximately $950m over a three year performance period, the multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) ACCESS contract vehicle is focussed at offering A&AS support to achieve the goals, objectives and priorities of organisations that are located at Wright-Patterson AFB.


Image: A USAF Global Hawk being readied for a runway taxi test at Beale Air Force Base in California, US. Photo: courtesy of Stacey Knott, US Air Force.