Northrop Grumman has delivered an RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system equipped with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node to the U.S. Air Force.
The company said Thursday it developed BACN to translate and distribute voice communications and other battlespace information from multiple sources to disparate users and networks.
BACN is designed to also integrate with the Bombardier BD-700 aircraft and has supported more than 10,000 combat missions to date.
The Air Force awarded Northrop a one-year, $172.7 million contract in January to help manage the airborne gateway’s payload technology and equipment.