Northrop Grumman’s contract for NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance system has an estimated value of $1.7 billion (€1.2 billion), according to the company’s release. The contract, signed on May 20 during NATO’s summit in Chicago, calls for Northrop Grumman’s transatlantic industry team to supply five RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40 remotely piloted aircraft equipped with the Northrop Grumman-Raytheon MP-RTIP radar sensor. The industry team’s European contributors will be responsible for supplying the system’s different types of mobile, remote, and transportable ground stations. The contract is meant to cover the purchase, initial operation, and maintenance of these high-altitude, long-endurance RPA, which NATO intends to utilize for theater operations—such as protecting ground forces, maritime security, and counterterrorism—as well as peacekeeping missions and disaster-relief efforts. “Northrop Grumman and our entire transatlantic industry team are proud to be bringing this strategic capability to NATO and its member nations,” said Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman chairman, CEO, and president.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.