Northrop Grumman has received a $306 million contract to continue logistics an sustainment services for U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft.

"In a turbulent world, Global Hawk's unparalleled reliability has made it an indispensable asset to the U.S. Air Force," said Mick Jaggers, director, Global Hawk, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Our team takes great pride in supporting the warfighter with an aircraft system that is ready and available whenever and wherever it's needed."

Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk is a high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial platform for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It has a cruise speed of 357 miles per hour, a range of 8,700 miles, a service ceiling of 60,000 feet and an endurance of 28 hours.

As with the earlier Global Hawk contract award, the company will provide maintenance, inventory management, parts procurement and other tasks to ensure aircraft availability.

The services will cover mission control and forward operating location support as well as the aircraft.

Additional contract details were not disclosed.