Northrop Grumman has been awarded multiple contracts worth $73 million by the US Department of Defense to provide Battlefield Airborne Communications Nodes and radars, respectively.
The first contract is to upgrade and install Battlefield Airborne Communications Nodes on the US Air Force jet-propelled EQ-4B Global Hawk autonomous airborne system for $40 million.
BACN is a high-altitude, airborne communications and information gateway system that functions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to published Northrop Grumman documentation.
The second contract awarded to Northrop Grumman is to install radar into the Navy’s Fire Scout unmanned helicopter for $33 million.
The scope of the contract, the release noted, includes installation, design, engineering and ground and flight testing of the drones.