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Raytheon modernizing Global Hawk ground control

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Airmen from Hawk Aircraft Maintenance Unit welcome RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft 2019 after its 10,000 flying hour milestone flight at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia March 8, 2015. Block 20s were initially fielded with imagery intelligence (IMINT)-only capabilities. Three Block 20s have been converted to an EQ-4 communication relay configuration, carrying the Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN) payload. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Marie Brown)

Raytheon has been awarded a subcontract to modernize the ground control system for the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV.

The contract is valued at up to $104 million, according to a Raytheon news release. Raytheon is providing the modernized ground controls for the Northrop Grumman-made Global Hawk.

“Global Hawk’s modernized mission control stations will use an open architecture to give the U.S. Air Force flexibility for adding different mission payloads and new platforms,” Raytheon said. “Proven safety features are combined with Raytheon’s cutting-edge cybersecurity for a safe and secure system.”

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Michael Peck is a correspondent for Defense News and a columnist for the Center for European Policy Analysis. He holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University. Find him at theuncommondefense.com. His email is mikedefense1@gmail.com.