New Life for the Hunters

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U.S. Army Awards Northrop Grumman $97 Million Contract to Procure and Modify Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

Parallel to the fielding of Block 0 Sky Warrior UAVs, the U.S. Army continue to support and enhance the existing tactical UAV fleet. The Army recently awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) an order for more Hunter MQ-5B UAV systems.


Under the $97 million order Northrop Grumman will deliver 12 Hunter MQ-5B Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) aircraft; six One-System Block II ground control stations; eight tactical common data link, ground data link terminal sets; two sets of ground support equipment; and four sets of spare parts. The award was made through a modification to the Hunter Contractor Logistic Support (CLS) 2008 contract. Deliveries and support will commence over a period of two years with a third year option.

The air vehicles will be produced by Stark Aerospace, Starkville, Miss.; L-3 Communications, Salt Lake City is providing the datalinks and remote video terminals. Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa provides the communications gear. AAI Corporation, Hunt Valley, Md. will supply the ground stations and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.’s TAMAM Division, from Israel will deliver the EO payloads for the UAVs. APL provides the heavy fuel engine for the aircraft. Work will primarily be performed at Northrop Grumman’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Center of Excellence, Sierra Vista, Ariz., and facilities at Starkville, Miss.