The prototype crashed.
Global Hawk made its first flight in February 1998, and completed 58 landings and landings during the implementation period of ACTD plan, flying ***7 19.4 hours.
1In March, 1999, the second prototype crashed and the reconnaissance sensor system specially designed for Global Hawk was destroyed. 1999 12, 3 had an accident while taxiing on the runway, which destroyed another sensor system. Therefore, in the subsequent test flight, no electronic/infrared sensor system was installed. However, a single synthetic aperture reconnaissance radar was tested and reconnaissance images were obtained.
The test flight continued in March 2000, and the complete Global Hawk system was redeployed to Edwards Air Force Base in June.
On April 22nd, 20001year, Global Hawk completed its pioneering overseas flight from the United States to Australia. You know, even manned planes, only a few can cross the Pacific Ocean, such as large passenger planes. This is the first time that a drone has accomplished such a feat.
The long flight distance also enables Global Hawk to stay over a certain target for 42 hours, so as to continuously monitor it. The ground station and support module of Global Hawk can be transported by one C-5 or two C- 17. Global Hawk itself does not need air transportation, because it has a transition range of 25,002 kilometers and a battery life of 38 hours, and can fly to any desired destination.
Basic performance parameters
Global Hawk has a fuselage length of 13.5m, a height of 4.62m, a wingspan of 35.4m and a maximum takeoff weight of 1 1622kg. The wingspan is similar to that of Boeing 747, so the Global Hawk is a huge drone.
Global Hawk has more than 7 tons of airborne fuel, the maximum range is 25,945 kilometers, and the autonomous flight time is 4 1 hour, which can complete intercontinental flight. It can move within 5556 kilometers from the launch area and stay for 24 hours above the target area 18288 meters.
The flight control system adopts GPS global positioning system and inertial navigation system, which can automatically complete the whole flight process from takeoff to landing.
The flight test of RQ-4A at 5,438+0 in April, 2006 reached the flight altitude of19,850m, and broke the mission flight record of 3 1.5 hours for the jet-powered UAV. This record was once a world record held by Compass Cope-R UAV for 26 years.
Global Hawk can carry photoelectric, infrared sensing system and synthetic aperture radar at the same time. The photoelectric sensor works in the 0.4 to 0.8 micron band, and the infrared sensor works in the 3.6 to 5 micron band. The photoelectric system includes the third generation infrared sensor and Kodak digital electric coupling device (CCD). Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has an X-band, 600MHZ and 3.5 kW peak moving target indicator. The flag reconnaissance photos obtained by this radar can be accurate to 1 m, and the fixed-point reconnaissance photos can be accurate to 0.30 m. For ground moving targets with a speed of 20 to 200 kilometers per hour, it can be accurate to 7 kilometers. Global Hawk can not only carry out a wide range of radar search, but also provide photoelectric/infrared images within 74,000 square kilometers, and the minimum circular error probability of target positioning can reach 20 meters. Synthetic aperture radar equipped with 1.2m diameter antenna can penetrate clouds, rain and other obstacles, and can continuously monitor moving targets.
The more advanced advantage of Global Hawk is that it can be connected with the existing Joint Deployment Intelligent Support System (JDISS) and Global Command and Control System (GCCS), and the images can be directly transmitted to commanders in real time for practical purposes, such as indicating targets, early warning, rapid attack and re-attack and battle evaluation. RQ-4A can also adapt to different communication control systems of the armed forces. It can be used for both broadband satellite communication and line-of-sight data transmission communication. Broadband communication system can reach the transmission rate of 274MB/ s, but it is not supported at present. Ku-band satellite communication system can reach 50MB/ s ... In addition, the machine is equipped with a backup data link.
The cost of each Global Hawk is about 5 1 10,000 USD. As the US Air Force is preparing to buy another 66 aircraft, it is estimated that the unit price will drop to about $20 million. In contrast, the cost of each U-2 exceeds $52 million.
The shortcomings of "Global Hawk"
Global Hawk also has many shortcomings. Its flight speed is only 644 km/h, so it is difficult to escape the pursuit of high-speed fighters; Jet engines still produce a small amount of infrared radiation signals. To this end, "Global Hawk" is equipped with infrared decoy bombs. The Global Hawk has a payload of only 900 kilograms, and its ability to carry equipment is very limited.
Basic performance parameters
Global Hawk has a fuselage length of 13.5m, a height of 4.62m, a wingspan of 35.4m and a maximum takeoff weight of 1 1622kg. The wingspan is similar to that of Boeing 747, so the Global Hawk is a huge drone.
Global Hawk has more than 7 tons of airborne fuel, the maximum range is 25,945 kilometers, and the autonomous flight time is 4 1 hour, which can complete intercontinental flight. It can move within 5556 kilometers from the launch area and stay for 24 hours above the target area 18288 meters.
The flight control system adopts GPS global positioning system and inertial navigation system, which can automatically complete the whole flight process from takeoff to landing.
The flight test of RQ-4A at 5,438+0 in April, 2006 reached the flight altitude of19,850m, and broke the mission flight record of 3 1.5 hours for the jet-powered UAV. This record was once a world record held by Compass Cope-R UAV for 26 years.
Global Hawk can carry photoelectric, infrared sensing system and synthetic aperture radar at the same time. The photoelectric sensor works in the 0.4 to 0.8 micron band, and the infrared sensor works in the 3.6 to 5 micron band. The photoelectric system includes the third generation infrared sensor and Kodak digital electric coupling device (CCD). Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has an X-band, 600MHZ and 3.5 kW peak moving target indicator. The flag reconnaissance photos obtained by this radar can be accurate to 1 m, and the fixed-point reconnaissance photos can be accurate to 0.30 m. For ground moving targets with a speed of 20 to 200 kilometers per hour, it can be accurate to 7 kilometers. Global Hawk can not only carry out a wide range of radar search, but also provide photoelectric/infrared images within 74,000 square kilometers, and the minimum circular error probability of target positioning can reach 20 meters. Synthetic aperture radar equipped with 1.2m diameter antenna can penetrate clouds, rain and other obstacles, and can continuously monitor moving targets.
The more advanced advantage of Global Hawk is that it can be connected with the existing Joint Deployment Intelligent Support System (JDISS) and Global Command and Control System (GCCS), and the images can be directly transmitted to commanders in real time for practical purposes, such as indicating targets, early warning, rapid attack and re-attack and battle evaluation. RQ-4A can also adapt to different communication control systems of the armed forces. It can be used for both broadband satellite communication and line-of-sight data transmission communication. Broadband communication system can reach the transmission rate of 274MB/ s, but it is not supported at present. Ku-band satellite communication system can reach 50MB/ s ... In addition, the machine is equipped with a backup data link.
The cost of each Global Hawk is about 5 1 10,000 USD. As the US Air Force is preparing to buy another 66 aircraft, it is estimated that the unit price will drop to about $20 million. In contrast, the cost of each U-2 exceeds $52 million.
The shortcomings of "Global Hawk"
Global Hawk also has many shortcomings. Its flight speed is only 644 km/h, so it is difficult to escape the pursuit of high-speed fighters; Jet engines still produce a small amount of infrared radiation signals. To this end, "Global Hawk" is equipped with infrared decoy bombs. The Global Hawk has a payload of only 900 kilograms, and its ability to carry equipment is very limited.
September 2002
Northrop Grumman decided to make an "enhanced" wing for the Global Hawk, aiming at improving the load and durability of the UAV. These wings are bigger 10% than they are now. The goal is to improve the performance of Global Hawk, achieve the goal of carrying 1360 kg payload to 18288 m in the air, and maintain its original voyage and airworthiness flight requirements.
Considering that the performance of U-2 aircraft can't meet the demand in the future 10, the US Air Force hopes on the load capacity and function of Global Hawk. With the increase of payload, the aircraft can carry signal reconnaissance sensors and radar to detect moving targets on the ground, which is closer to the function of U-2.
July 2003
The U.S. Department of Defense began to plan to install a weapon system for the Global Hawk, which indicates that the UAV policy of the Department of Defense has changed. The us air force opposed the decision. The air force pointed out that some countries are opposed to armed drones flying into their airspace, which will weaken the flexibility of the use of armed drones.
General Franks, the commander of the US military in the Iraq war and now retired, said that arming the Global Hawk is something that the US military must attach importance to, because the experience of the Iraq war shows that high-altitude platforms will have great practical value if they can illuminate and attack targets by themselves.
The Air Force Combat Command said that it has been confirmed that in the Iraq war, drones can be controlled to perform tasks in places 9,660 kilometers away, and the collection, transmission, processing and transmission of images can be completed in less than 10 minutes. The headquarters also explained to the media the concept of "kill chain" of UAV compression target, expecting a further leap in the whole UAV system and control capability.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said that it is optimistic about future UAV systems, such as joint unmanned combat aircraft, unmanned combat rotorcraft and combined aircraft, as well as their long-lasting and stable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance potential and their ability to attack the ground and air in some cases.
August 2003
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Department completed the manufacture of the first RQ-4A Global Hawk. After completing the last series of system tests, the aircraft made its first test flight at the end of that month. This "Global Hawk" is the eighth unmanned aerial vehicle of the same type manufactured by Nogo, and the first seven are all advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) models of this project. The first production "Global Hawk" is expected to be delivered to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing of the Air Force. At the same time, Northrop Grumman began the special flight test of Global Hawk, and plans to demonstrate its electronic intelligence reconnaissance mission capability in Germany in early June of 65438+ 10.
In addition, on August 18, Global Hawk obtained a blanket flight permit from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, which authorized Global Hawk to fly at any altitude within the US airspace. This paves the way for Global Hawk to support local defense missions in its own airspace. According to the licensing regulations, Global Hawk must take off and land in a limited place, such as an air base, and climb above the air traffic passage of civil aviation before entering the free airspace.
September 2003
Northrop Grumman has begun to develop and produce a new and more powerful improved RQ-4B. This development is in response to a pre-procurement activity recently awarded by the US Air Force and a long-term hardware contract with a total value of $30 million.
RQ-4B maintains the air force's operational requirements for flying altitude, airworthiness and range, but its payload capacity is increased by 50% compared with that of Global Hawk.
Northrop Grumman will produce three RQ-4B UAVs in its Pamdale manufacturing plant as part of the low-speed initial production of the third batch of Global Hawks. The UAV will be delivered in 2004~2005. Besides carrying the increased SIGINT and ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) payloads, RQ-4B will be able to carry the payload of the Multi-platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) currently being developed by the Integrated Systems Department, which is also the radar of the E- 10A early warning aircraft.
The RQ-4B has a larger wingspan (130.9 feet (40m), while the current Global Hawk is 1 16 feet (30.5m)) and a longer fuselage (47.6ft (14.5m). By adopting a new generator and slightly modifying the AE-3007 engine in rolls royce, the power output of the new Global Hawk has increased by 150%. This new third batch of low-speed initial production contract also includes long-term investment in RQ-4A to produce UAV and integrated sensor components (photoelectric/infrared and synthetic aperture radar), launch and recovery components and mission control components currently in use.
June 5, 2004 to1October 38, 2004
The first RQ-4A rq-4 used in the US Navy's Global Hawk Demonstration (GHMD) program flew from Palmdale, California to Edwards Air Force Base on June 6th/kloc-0, completing its first flight.
The whole flight lasted about 4 hours, during which the fuselage, guidance system and power system were tested. This aircraft is one of two unmanned aerial vehicles purchased by the US Navy for the GHMD program, which aims to formulate the tactics and operational procedures of unmanned aerial vehicles at sea. The UAV system in GHMD will provide a test platform for the US Navy to evaluate the new plan and support fleet tests and exercises. Provide operational support for the deployed navy and marine corps.
The experience gained from the GHMD project will be used for future naval UAV systems. Colonel Dennis, the manager of the naval UAV project, believes that this flight shows that the development of the naval UAV project and naval aviation has made significant progress. For the first time, the navy has a UAV system, which can support naval fleet operations around the world.
The experience gained from the GHMD project will serve as the benchmark for the navy to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks at sea in the future. The navy's Global Hawk has been improved to perform naval tasks, including using new radar working modes to detect and identify ships at sea. The ground control station has also been improved, adding display and control equipment to help controllers analyze sensor information.
5 June 2004 to 5 February 2004
Rq-4's cost tripled because the Pentagon asked to enhance the performance of the long-endurance UAV. According to the US General Accounting Office (GAO), increasing the development cost means that the manufacturing quantity is less than originally planned. Northrop Grumman is the main contractor of the Global Hawk UAV project. Since 2002, the Global Hawk UAV has been re-ordered twice, and the project investment has been reduced from 20 years to 10 years. In fiscal year 2006, the US Air Force plans to seek $750 million for this project, which is three times the original planned amount. In 200 1 year, the Pentagon plans to spend $5.3 billion to produce 63 aircraft and 14 ground stations.
According to Gao, the Pentagon's demand to improve the performance of drones prompted its project cost to increase by 44% compared with the original plan. Northrop Grumman is working on the RQ-4B UAV. The new UAV has not been designed yet, and its advanced sensor payload technology is still immature. Gao suggested that the Pentagon reconsider developing and producing new drones at the same time and postpone its procurement time.
Northrop Grumman said that it needs to pay a high price to get products with good performance, and the high cost of parts used is also one of the reasons. In addition, the company's representative said that some officials of the Ministry of National Defense overlooked that Global Hawk greatly saved the operating cost of the whole life cycle compared with manned aircraft of similar size, and the operating cost was much lower than that of manned aircraft. Moreover, the materials of Global Hawk are relatively expensive, so merchants can't get discounts on the prices of aluminum alloy or carbon fiber parts.
The representative said that the UAV platform only needs a few operators, and the operators are the most expensive expenditure in the budget of the Ministry of National Defense, accounting for almost two-thirds of the total expenditure, including wages, house purchase, medical care, family members, and veterans' arrangements. Moreover, the value of the long-range Global Hawk is that it can hover over the enemy for a longer time, which can solve the problem that the United States is refused access to or use of nearby land (only these manned land planes can perform tasks), just like in the war in Afghanistan. Since Global Hawk can carry a payload of 18 16kg (400lb), it can be equipped with more sensors to keep up to date. The last advantage is that drones can be controlled by laptops. Ideally, each ground station can control the flight of four Global Hawks. The open structure also means that the software of UAV is easy to upgrade, which lays the foundation for future battlefield practicability.
June 5438, 2005+10 month
Raytheon has signed a contract to develop three sets of improved integrated sensors of Global Hawk at a low price. This improved sensor (EISS) with dual functions of synthetic aperture radar and optical fiber sensor will improve the performance of the existing sensor (ISS) by 50%. In addition, Raytheon will update the means of information transmission between aircraft and ground forces. After the development in California is completed, the US Air Force will award Lockheed Martin a production contract, which is scheduled to be completed in 2006.
March 2005
Northrop Grumman, Tenix Defence and Saab Systems announced that they will jointly develop a ground system for Australia, which will be integrated with Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk high-altitude long-endurance UAV.
In the same month, Walter Aircraft Industry announced that it had delivered the first enhanced wing of the RQ-4B of the US Air Force to Northrop Grumman. Walter Company used commercial composite materials and epoxy resin materials in manufacturing RQ-4B aircraft wings. The new wing is 130.9 feet (39.9 meters) long and weighs about 4,000 pounds (18 14 kg), which is the longest wing delivered by Walter Dallas.
August 2005
The flight test of "Global Hawk" has ended, which makes the latest "Global Hawk" take another step towards actual combat. The flight test was conducted by the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The purpose of this test is to support the decision whether the upcoming 10 batch of global hawk and sensor equipment is ready for deployment.
Global Hawk can provide air force and joint battlefield commanders with near real-time high-resolution intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance images.
An official of the test squadron said that it plans to replace the Global Hawk Advanced Concept Technology Verification Machine (ACTD) currently deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom with a new Global Hawk. He said that each advanced concept technology verification machine is different, and the "Global Hawk" produced is standardized and can be used and maintained by the Air Force itself. At present, the contractor is mainly responsible for the maintenance of drones.
This flight test met the requirements of a series of development tests and operational tests, and completed a comprehensive system evaluation flight to demonstrate the performance of the Global Hawk system. The assessed capabilities include: flight operation, photoelectric system, functions of infrared and synthetic aperture radar, and quantity, timeliness and availability of sensor images.
September 2005
According to Hurst, commander of the US Pacific Air Force stationed at Hickam Air Force Base, the US Air Force plans to deploy the high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle "Global Hawk" to the whole Pacific region. The US military plans to deploy in Guam first and seek to deploy in other allies such as Australia, Japan and South Korea. The US Pacific Air Force is eager to discuss the possibility of deploying UAV launch and recovery equipment in northern Australia, Singapore and India.
The Global Hawk UAV developed by Northrop Grumman can fly at an altitude of 60,000 feet for 24 hours, which can help the Air Force to carry out reconnaissance missions throughout the Pacific. The drone took off from Guam and was controlled by Hikem Air Force Base. The UAV can fly to the Sea of Japan or the East Sea of China, where it will perform the 16-hour mission, or fly to the Straits of Malacca to perform the 12-hour mission, and then return to the base.
The first prototypes of Global Hawk have already carried out reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Northrop Grumman is stepping up the production of this drone, but it faces the challenges of increased cost and "plug and play" conditions (enabling the Air Force to replace different loads to meet the needs).
The Air Force also deployed a smaller Predator drone in South Korea. Predator UAV was developed by General Atomics in San Diego. It can be divided into type A and type B. Type B has longer wings and can carry missile weapons and equipment except surveillance and reconnaissance equipment. Predator B UAV can perform full spectrum combat tasks from reconnaissance to combat.
165438+20051October
Northrop Grumman said that the Global Hawk UAV has reached the milestone of 5,000 combat flight hours, and it is expected that the company will immediately announce the official announcement of this achievement. This high-altitude, long-endurance drone has been supporting military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places.
June 5438, 2005+February
The Global Hawk Demonstration (GHMD) UAV system of the US Navy is a modification of the RQ-4A Global Hawk system used by the US Air Force. On the basis of the latter, the radar working mode suitable for maritime search, special airborne and ground station software and unique passive RF sensor are adopted. The US Navy purchased two GHMD UAVs and corresponding ground stations, which were used by the 20th Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX-20) stationed at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland.
Global Hawk also participated in the US Navy's military exercise for the first time. The exercise code is 2005 "(Trident Warrior 05. During the exercise, "Global Hawk" flew over the maritime shooting range of the US Naval Air Systems Command on the west coast of the United States, and sent reconnaissance information to the commander who was performing on the east coast of the United States, the US Navy Atlantic Fleet and the amphibious command ships "Iojima" amphibious assault ship and "Mount Whitney" in real time.
Rq-4 flew four times in this exercise, with a total flight time of 3 1.8 hours. In these missions, aircraft use radar and photoelectric/infrared sensors to detect maritime targets, and classify them through high-resolution ISAR mode and photoelectric/infrared images. All the missions started at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Reconnaissance images are transmitted to GHMD ground station of Northrop Grumman System Comprehensive Laboratory in California through high-speed satellite data link in real time, and then forwarded to tactical assistant Global Hawk System (TAGS), naval intelligence department and participating ships of US Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Maryland.
March 2006
The first Global Hawk)RQ-4A high-altitude long-endurance information drone equipped by the US Navy has flown to its new base-NAS in Patuxent River, Maryland. The aircraft number is N- 1, and it is one of two naval RQ-4A purchased by the United States Navy Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System (UAS) Project Office according to the Global Hawk Sea Demonstration and Verification (GHMD) program.
May 2006
The German Department of Defense and the US Department of Defense signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the interoperability of the two systems in Berlin, which is the scheduled plan of the Eurohawk project. According to the plan, "European Eagle" will be put into mass production in 2009 and form its initial combat capability, and will replace the outdated signal intelligence reconnaissance plane of the German Air Force modified by the French "Atlantic" anti-submarine patrol aircraft in 20 10.
July 2006
Northrop Grumman announced the future operational concept of its RQ-4 rq-4 (unmanned aerial vehicle) for the first time at this Farnborough Air Show: detecting and tracking ballistic missiles and carrying out BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) missions.
August 2007
The US Air Force has put forward a new method to control the temperature in rq-4. Due to the extreme high temperature in southwest Asia, the efficiency of the aircraft has been reduced.
Global Hawk, U-2 and other aircraft fly in extremely hot environment, and their sensors can't work because of the high temperature. Due to the lack of a powerful environmental control device to keep the electronic system cool in a hot environment, the Air Force had to use water pipe flushing to cool the aircraft. During the day, the plane is parked in an air-conditioned hangar, and then put into flight at night when the outside temperature drops to ensure that the sensor can work relatively effectively.
David Bates of the 380 Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (EAMS) said that the highest working temperature of the main computer of Global Hawk was 40.5℃, and the main reason why a recent aircraft deviated in flight and was forced to return to the base was the high external temperature. After the plane stayed for several hours in the hot noon, the flight crew began to worry about the temperature of the aircraft parts. After flushing the plane with water pipes, the plane can slide on the runway and start taking off.