3/25/2008 - Northrop Grumman Corporation's RQ-4
Global Hawk set an endurance record for a full-scale,
operational unmanned aircraft on Saturday, March 22,
2008, when it completed a flight of 33.1 hours at
altitudes up to 60,000 feet over Edwards Air Force
Base, Calif.
"It was a picture perfect flight, landing flawlessly
on centerline with enough fuel remaining to continue
for two more hours," said Jerry Madigan, Northrop
Grumman vice president of high-altitude long-endurance
(HALE) systems. "The pilots and ground crew, as well
as Edwards Air Force Base senior leadership were very
impressed with the Global Hawk's performance, meeting
or exceeding every flight objective."
"The Global Hawk has been performing beyond our
expectations and this flight is a testament to the
U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman's commitment to
providing world-class, innovative systems for our
military forces," said Bryan Lima, Northrop Grumman
Global Hawk chief engineer. "This was the longest
mission ever flown by a HALE or MALE (medium-altitude
long-endurance) aircraft."
Designated AF-8, the first Global Hawk Block 20, tail
no. 04-2015, surpassed both the official and
unofficial world un-refueled endurance records for
operational unmanned airplanes previously held by the
Block 10 variant.
"This was a major milestone for the entire Global
Hawk team and is a critical data point in supporting
upcoming production decisions," said Col. Chris
Coombs, acting Global Hawk program director for the
303rd Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Ohio. "Even after 10 years of flight,
the Global Hawk continues to amaze us. Truly a feat of
outstanding engineering, no other unmanned aircraft
has yet to come close to matching its combat-proven
capabilities and versatility."
To date, three Global Hawks are currently deployed in
support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT), logging
more than 15,700 combat hours with more than 21,000
total program flight hours and 95 percent mission
effectiveness.
"Northrop Grumman's 60-year history of providing more
than 100,000 unmanned systems to military customers in
the U.S. and abroad, coupled with this endurance
record, have cemented their reputation in producing
outstanding unmanned systems," added Col. Coombs.
"Under the Air Force contract, Global Hawks cost
approximately $28 million each averaged across the
entire fleet of 54 aircraft."
As the world's first fully autonomous HALE unmanned
aerial system providing persistent intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance to warfighters, the
Global Hawk is designed to fly up to 65,000 feet for
more than 35 hours and see through any inclement
weather at any time.
Global Hawks are flown in four locations across the
globe: Beale Air Force Base, home of the 9th
Reconnaissance Wing and the RQ-4's main operating
base, near Sacramento, Calif.; Edwards Air Force Base
in Southern California; Patuxent River Naval Air
Station in Maryland; and in support of the GWOT.
Source: Northrop Press Release