WASHINGTON — The Global Hawk's ground segment is getting a makeover, including an open architecture backbone and new facilities that will move pilots out of the confined shelters currently used for operations, a Raytheon official said Monday.

Under a new contract announced Monday, Raytheon could pocket up to $104 million to modernize the ground control stations for the RQ-4 Global Hawk, a Northrop Grumman-manufactured remotely piloted aircraft that conducts high altitude, long endurance surveillance for the Air Force.

The initial award to Raytheon, which produces the ground segment, sits around $70 million, said Bob Dehnert, senior director for command, control and awareness at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. Work on the modernized ground control stations is expected to be complete in 2019.

Among the improvements planned is the introduction of an open architecture backbone, which will make it easier for the Air Force to integrate new payloads, he said in an Aug. 22 interview.

Specifically, the open architecture modification will cut down the amount of flight testing needed to introduce new sensors.

"The sensor itself, you would want to be able to verify that it can do what it's designed to do, but you won't need to verify the flight safety of the air vehicle," he said. "You won't need to verify that the aircraft can take off and land and achieve a certain altitude, air speed and direction, and those things, because those functionalities are separated."

In addition, Global Hawk pilots and sensor operators will relocate from shelter-based ground control stations, which are often the size of a small trailer, to work stations located inside a building. The company will also reduce the amount of computing equipment from nine to two racks.

"You don't have the noise of the generators, and it's just much more user friendly in terms of environment," Dehnert said.

Raytheon will design facilities for Beale and Grand Forks Air Force Bases, although Dehnert could not confirm whether the service would build new or use existing infrastructure.   

The modernized ground segment will also include cybersecurity improvements and upgraded screens and user interfaces, he said.

 "The Raytheon and Northrop Grumman team delivers innovative solutions that help the Air Force develop critical battlefield intelligence capability," Todd Probert, vice president of mission support and modernization at Raytheon IIS, said in a statement. "We modernize systems with a unique approach that enhances the mission and reduces overall costs."

About Valerie Insinna

Valerie Insinna is Defense News' air warfare reporter. She previously worked the Navy/congressional beats for Defense Daily, which followed almost three years as a staff writer for National Defense Magazine. Prior to that, she worked as an editorial assistant for the Tokyo Shimbun’s Washington bureau.

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