Valued At $15 Million Over Five Years

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center recently awarded a multi-year contract to L-3 Communications Corporation's Communications Systems West of Salt Lake City for engineering, technical and product support services in support of the center's pending operation of two Global Hawk aircraft.

The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, contract is for a five-year period with a value not to exceed $15 million. The agreement covers the period from September 5, 2008 through September 4, 2013.

The contract supports Dryden's planned operation of the two aircraft, their associated ground control station and related systems. L-3 Communications will be responsible for providing specialized analysis, engineering, functional tests, hardware or software development or testing that requires specific L-3 Communications proprietary data. The contractor' efforts will include re-manufacturing components or equipment and specific operational support related to pre-flight preparation, mission, flight and post-flight support.

L-3's Communications Systems West will also be responsible for supporting deployments of the aircraft to other NASA or customer facilities, domestic or foreign operational deployment locations.

Dryden will use the autonomously operated unmanned aircraft for missions supporting NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the Earth science community that need high-altitude, long-endurance, long-distance airborne capability. The first science mission using the Global Hawk is tentative scheduled for the spring of 2009.

The two pre-production Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration aircraft were recently transferred to Dryden from the U.S. Air Force, which had no further requirement for the craft.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-098-DFRC.html