Global Hawk UAV Surpasses 5,000 Combat Flight Hours

UAV NEWS

San Diego CA (SPX) Jan 06, 2006
The U.S. Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system, built by Northrop Grumman, recently passed the 5,000 combat flight-hours mark while on a mission supporting the global war on terrorism.

Deployed almost immediately following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles have been flying nearly continuous combat missions since 2001. The system has now flown 233 missions, 157 of them by a single Global Hawk. Collectively, the family of Global Hawk aircraft has accumulated more than 8,000 total flight hours.

"The high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned reconnaissance system has performed exceptionally well in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, providing image intelligence for hundreds of time-sensitive targets," said George Guerra, director of Northrop Grumman's Air Force Global Hawk program.

"It not only flies preprogrammed missions, but can also be re-tasked in just minutes to locate new targets. Global Hawk proved early-on its unique value, reliability and flexibility as an intelligence asset."

Global Hawk flies autonomously at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet, above inclement weather and prevailing winds, for more than 35 hours at a time. During a single mission, it can provide detailed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information in near-real time over 40,000 square miles - approximately the size of Illinois.

Northrop Grumman leads a Global Hawk industry team that comprises U.S. and international companies. The unmanned system's primary program elements are provided by team members as follows:

Integrated sensor suite, Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems, El Segundo, Calif.

Ground station, Raytheon Intelligence & Information Systems, Falls Church, Va.

Engine, Rolls-Royce Corporation, Indianapolis

Communication system, L-3 Communications, West, Salt Lake City

Wing, Vought Aircraft Industries, Dallas

V-Tail assembly and other composite structures, Aurora Flight Sciences, Bridgeport, West Va.

UAV NEWS

MachineTalker Mesh Networks In Flight Collecting Wireless Sensor Data On-Board NASA UAVs

Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Jan 5, 2006
MachineTalker has completed flight tests of its intelligent mesh network, collecting wireless sensor data from on-board sensors, processing and passing results to Talkers on the ground.

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