Reports gathered by ASD-Network indicate the combat-proven RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS), built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), continues to prove its mettle by exceeding more than 31,000 cumulative flight hours for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. More than 76 percent of these flight hours were flown in support of overseas contingency operations (OCO) efforts.
The first of 15 Block 40 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft reconnaissance system is unveiled by Northrop Grumman and U.S. Air Force officials June 25 in Palmdale, Calif. This newest addition to the Air Force’s growing fleet of Global Hawks carries an advanced, all-weather multi-platform radar technology insertion program (MP-RTIP) sensor capable of detecting, tracking and identifying stationary and moving targets. Photo courtesy Northrop Grumman Corporation
“Global Hawk has been a tremendous asset in OCO support, flying more than 1,100 missions in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom,” said Steve Amburgey, Global Hawk program director for the 303d Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “With four aircraft now surging overseas at 97 percent mission effectiveness, the highest of any deployed system, the Global Hawk has consistently demonstrated its resiliency and capabilities.”
This milestone comes on the heels of several recent successes, including the Global Hawk’s 2,000th mission, deployment of the first Navy aircraft for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstration (BAMS-D) program, the first series of flight tests for its Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload (ASIP) on the Block 30 configuration, and completion of initial testing of the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) sensor for the Block 40 aircraft.
“Ever since its first OCO deployment in 2001, Global Hawk has provided persistent surveillance — an unblinking eye — over and from any place on the planet,” said George Guerra, Northrop Grumman vice president of high altitude long endurance (HALE) systems. “These recent achievements are a testament to the robustness of the system, as well as the excellent partnership we have with our customers to ensure our technology is meeting the mark.”
Able to simultaneously detect, identify and locate electronic and communications signals as well as special signals, the ASIP sensor will also be used onboard the Global Hawk’s manned counterpart, the U-2. ASIP testing is scheduled for completion later this year.
The MP-RTIP tests verified system performance of the Synthetic Aperture Radar and Ground Moving Target Indicator dedicated modes as part of the Radar System Level Performance Verification program. The first Block 40 aircraft, AF-18, has been assembled and awaiting flight testing by the Air Force.
To date, the Global Hawk program has been on cost and on schedule for three straight years. All nine of the Block 10 configurations have been completed and delivered, seven for the Air Force and two for the Navy’s BAMS-D program. All of the six Block 20s have been delivered and the rest of the fleet are in various stages of production and flight testing, including 17 Block 30s and one Block 40.
“Global Hawk, which can fly three times as long and operates at more than half the cost per flight hour than its manned counterpart, is the best value system for our warfighters,” said Guerra. “Compared to other similar UAS, it only takes a single Global Hawk to collect the same information as 18 smaller medium-altitude unmanned systems.”
