![]() ![]() The Global Hawk took its first flight on 28 February 1998. It was decided to proceed with the Global Hawk for its range and payload rather than go with the stealth Dark Star. Due to budget cuts, only one of the programs could survive. ![]() One was the stealthy Lockheed Martin RQ-3 DarkStar another was the Global Hawk. In the 1990s, the Air Force was developing uncrewed aerial intelligence platforms. This section needs expansion with: development, context, and history of the design this article is focused almost entirely on events after 2006–2008. Air Force plans to retire its Global Hawks in 2027. Navy has developed the Global Hawk into the MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance platform. The initial flyaway cost of each of the first 10 aircraft was US$10 million in 1994. According to the USAF, the superior surveillance capabilities of the aircraft allow more precise weapons targeting and better protection of friendly forces.Ĭost overruns led to the original plan to acquire 63 aircraft being cut to 45, and to a 2013 proposal to mothball the 21 Block 30 signals intelligence variants. It is used as a high-altitude long endurance (HALE) platform covering the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide military operations. The Global Hawk is operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft introduced in 2001.
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