The typical flight profile of the aircraft consists of a rapid climb to approximately 55,000 ft (16.8 km); a subsequent climb at a lower, steady rate as fuel is expended until the aircraft reaches its maximum operational altitude of 65,000 ft (20 km); and flight at maximum operational altitude until the aircraft returns to the operations base and descends for landing.The Global Hawk UAS requires two independent communication links between the GHOC and air vehicle before the start of air vehicle operations.

The aircraft was loaded with 11 science instruments.


The RQ-4 is currently the only aircraft enlisted pilots are flying.On 24 April 2001, a Global Hawk flew non-stop from On 22 March 2008, a Global Hawk set the endurance record for full-scale, operational uncrewed aircraft UAVs by flying for 33.1 hours at altitudes up to 60,000 feet over Edwards AFB.From its first flight in 1998 to 9 September 2013, the combined Global Hawk fleet flew 100,000 hours.

As of 2009, NASA has two Global Hawk UAS units, which are referred to as AV-1 (Air Vehicle-1) and AV-6. The C-130 can accommodate a wide variety of oversized cargo, including everythi… Maj. Brad Short, who is assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, won 2nd place Two U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs release countermeasure flares over A "zero-day" is a computer-software vulnerability that is unaddressed by the system's operator. The UPA can support 1,200 lb (540 kg) of sensors and will create a canoe-shaped sensor bay on the fuselage's underside. The MODIS instruments on the TERRA and Aqua satellites have utilized CPL data for validation purposes, as has the AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) on the Aqua satellite.CPL is a compact elastic backscatter lidar system that provides multi-wavelength measurements of cirrus, sub-visual cirrus, and aerosols with high temporal and spatial resolution.

The RQ-4 and the Airmen are assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Operations Group. Weapons can be attached if necessary, but this military drone is designed almost exclusively for imaging.
The precision is 2 x 10The NI CompactRIO controller provides the processing speeds, low-power consumption, ruggedness and compactness necessary to successfully collect and communicate atmospheric data, unpressurized, at the cruising altitudes of the Global Hawk UAS.UCTAS is an instrument of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, CO. This interface panel provides the services of: power, 1553-based inertial navigation system (INS) data, and CThe Global Hawk is a revolutionary aircraft for science because of its enormous range and endurance at about twice the altitude of commercial aircraft. The Global Hawk flight system was originally developed for reconnaissance and combat purposes, but Northrop Grumman and NASA engineers managed to convert two planes into a multi-purpose science platform; each platform will be able to provide NASA and NOAA scientists with advanced readings of the planet's atmosphere, in particular for the benefit of Earth's climate programs.The remotely-controlled airplanes can fly at very high altitudes (up to 20 km) and over considerable distances (up to 20,000 km). In May 2008, NASA/DFRC (Dryden Flight Research Center) at EAFB (Edwards Air Force Base), CA and the Northrop Grumman Corp. of Rancho Bernardo, CA signed a Space Act Agreement to re-fit and maintain three Global Hawks transferred from the USAF for use in high-altitude, long-duration Earth science missions. The Data Acquisition System samples the independent variables simultaneously and provides control over all system hardware.The MMS is used to investigate atmospheric mesoscale (gravity and mountain lee waves) and microscale (turbulence) phenomena. The instrument utilizes state-of-the-art technology with a high repetition rate, low pulse energy laser and photon-counting detection.400 pm at 1064 nm, 120 pm at 532 nm, 150 pm at 355 nmFCAS counts and sizes aerosol particles by measuring the amount of light scattered as they pass through a laser beam. Development of the OPO nonlinear conversion modules for generating the OThe ITT nonlinear optics module includes the OPO and mixing crystals integrated with the Fibertek Inc. Nd:YAG laser to produce the airborne wavelengths of 290 and 300 nm. RQ-4 GLOBAL HAWK SYSTEM CAPABILITIES Operational Range of 12,300 Nautical Miles 32+ hours of persistent intelligence-gathering capability Max Altitude: 60,000 ft Near real-time communications 500nm RINGS LONG ENDURANCE Provides Persistent Surveillance TIME ON STATION 21.5 hrs. Global Hawk has achieved several distinctions and awards, including setting an endurance record for a full-scale, operational unmanned aircraft on March 22, 2008, when it completed a flight of 33.1 hours at altitudes up to 60,000 feet (18.5 km) over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Two developmental model Northrop Grumman Global Hawk aircraft have been transferred from the U.S. Air Force to NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif., for use in high-altitude, long-duration Earth science missions.

Listen as CMSAF Kaleth O. Wright weighs in...The U.S. Air Force Academy gives its cadets some unique opportunities. MTP scans forward at various elevation angles both upward and downward from the aircraft.

The flight crew uses two additional Iridium links to monitor power consumption by individual payloads, and to control features such as lasers and dropsonde dispensing. Operators pre-program a flight path, then the plane flies itself for as long as 30 hours, staying in contact through satellite and line-of-site communications links to a ground control station at NASA's DFRC in California's Mojave Desert.Global Hawk has achieved several distinctions and awards, including setting an endurance record for a full-scale, operational unmanned aircraft on March 22, 2008, when it completed a flight of 33.1 hours at altitudes up to 60,000 feet (18.5 km) over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The RQ-4A Global Hawk on display, serial number 02-2011, was the fourth production unit built and made its first flight in August 2004.