Northrop Grumman awarded a $60 million contract to produce RQ-4B Global Hawks

The new RQ-4B Global Hawk is the next generation of the original RQ-4A configuration, and is designed to carry 3,000 pounds of payload, 50 percent more than its’ predecessor. This increased capability will allow the Air Force to install additional sensors on the air vehicle, increasing the amount and types of information available to warfighters. Global Hawk flies flies for more than 35 hours at a time at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet above weather and winds. It provides detailed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information in near-real time over 40,000 square miles.