The US. Air Force’s RQ-4A Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system recently achieved a significant program milestone by surpassing 2,000 combat flight hours. This accomplishment, achieved while supporting the global war on terrorism, adds to a long string of successes for the system, which is produced by Northrop Grumman Corporation.
The Global Hawk system now has accumulated more than 4,000 total flight hours since its first flight occurred in February 1998.
“These milestones reflect the dedication and commitment of the entire Global Hawk industry team to meeting the warfighters’ needs,” said Carl O. Johnson, vice president and Global Hawk team leader for Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems sector.
“The system’s ability to carry out reconnaissance missions in all types of operations has allowed it to accumulate nearly half of its flight hours in support of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
In addition to three combat deployments, Global Hawk has been deployed to Florida, Australia and Germany.
In April 2001, a Global Hawk made aviation history when it completed the first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean by an unmanned powered aircraft, flying from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to the Royal Australian Air Force Base, Edinburgh, South Australia.
The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized that flight as the longest (8,650 miles or 13,840 kilometers) by a full-scale unmanned aircraft. In August 2003, Global Hawk became the first unmanned aerial vehicle to receive authorization from the US. Federal Aviation Administration to fly in national airspace.
As the Global Hawk prime contractor, Northrop Grumman has received more than $2.3 billion in related design, development, testing and production contracts.
