NASA Extends Global Hawk Use To Support Strong SkyRange Demand | Aviation Week

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Robert Wall
October 29, 2026

RQ-4A Global Hawk

Credit: NASA

NASA has boosted funding to Northrop Grumman to support the agency’s SkyRange program and extend the use of the RQ-4A Global Hawk aircraft given strong demand for the activities.

“Over the past five years and eight months, the SkyRange project has expanded, requiring additional support from [Northrop],” NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center said Oct. 28.

NASA in 2020 awarded Northrop a $70 million contract for a five-year program to field a long-range, flight-test data collection capability to support hypersonic weapon testing.

The figure “did not account for the substantial growth of the project,” NASA now says. In part, the agency said, the growth stems from the work it has asked Northrop to perform for new sensor integration.

NASA said it awarded a contract Oct. 19 to add $50 million to the contract ceiling and extend the performance period until Sept. 30, 2027.

Robert Wall

Robert Wall is Executive Editor for Defense and Space. Based in London, he directs a team of military and space journalists across the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific.