Global Hawk

Global Hawk

In March 2001, Global Hawk entered the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase of defense acquisition. Global Hawk is currently deployed supporting Operation Enduring Freedom Global Hawk, which has a wingspan of 116 feet (35.3 meters) and is 44 feet (13.4 meters) long, can range as far as 12,000 nautical miles, at altitudes up to 65,000 feet (19,812 meters), flying at speeds approaching 340 knots (about 400 mph) for as long as 35 hours. During a typical mission, the aircraft can fly 1,200 miles to an area of interest and remain on station for 24 hours.

The Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) provides Air Force and joint battlefield commanders near-real-time, high-resolution, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery. In the last year, the Global Hawk provided Air Force and joint warfighting commanders more than 15,000 of these images to support Operation Enduring Freedom, flying more than 50 missions and 1,000 combat hours to date. Cruising at extremely high altitudes, Global Hawk can survey large geographic areas with pinpoint accuracy, to give military decision-makers the most current information about enemy location, resources and personnel. Once mission parameters are programmed into Global Hawk, the UAV can autonomously taxi, take off, fly, remain on station capturing imagery, return and land.

Stealth Bomber	A10 Thunderbolt	AC130 Gunship	B1B Lancer
B2 Spirit	B52 Stratofortress	C130 Hercules	C141 Starlifter
C17 Globemaster III	C5 Galaxy	E8C Joint Stars	F117A Nighthawk
F15 Eagle	Global Hawk	T1A Jayhawk	T38 Talon