Global Hawk Unmanned Air Vehicle

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The U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) that performs autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Under contract to prime contractor Northrop Grumman, Vought Aircraft Industries builds the wing for the air vehicle.

Global Hawk is designed to provide military field commanders with high-resolution, near-real-time imagery of large geographic areas for long periods of time. The program is managed by the U.S. Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Vought delivered two prototype RQ-4 Block 10 Global Hawk wings under its initial contract with Northrop Grumman. The first was delivered in March 2001. Additionally, Vought has delivered nine RQ-4 Block 10 Global Hawk wings under its Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract with Northrop Grumman. 

In September 2002, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems sector selected Vought to build an enhanced wing for the RQ-4 Block 20 Global Hawk.  The enhanced wing is one of a number of system improvements Northrop Grumman has made to Global Hawk to accommodate a larger payload while maintaining current platform performance specifications.

Vought’s work includes design development, fabrication, assembly and structural testing of the new wing. Vought delivered its first enhanced RQ-4 Block 20 wing in July 2005.  Since then, Vought has built a total of 14 production wings for the RQ-4 Block 20 Global Hawk. Follow-on production contracts are authorized through 2010.  In 2006, Vought also complete the assembly of  and testing ofthe RQ-4 Block 20 Ultimate Loads Test (ULT) wing.

Global Hawk has logged more than 14,000 combat  hours in the Global War on Terrorism. It began flying missions over Afghanistan in 2001, playing a key role in supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.  Global Hawk enhances the U.S. military's ability to prevail in all types of operations, from sensitive peacekeeping missions to full-scale combat.

Global Hawk flies autonomously at altitudes up to  65,000 feet, well above inclement weather and prevailing winds for up to 35 hours at speeds approaching 340  knots. During a single mission, it can travel more than 10,000 nautical miles from its take-off location, and it provides detailed image-based intelligence on 40,000 square miles.

Although unmanned, the aircraft meets safety criteria of the FAA that permit it to fly in air traffic controlled airspace. It can fly farther without refueling and remain on station longer than any other air vehicle.

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) named the Global Hawk as winner of the Robert J. Collier Trophy – an honor recognizing the air vehicle as the top aeronautical achievement of 2000.

Vought uses commercially available graphite and epoxy materials, including high modulus unidirectional tape, in the fabrication of the Global Hawk wing. The new wing is 130.9 feet long, weighs about 4,000 pounds and is the longest wing ever delivered from Vought’s Dallas facility. The RQ-4 Block 20’s wing span increased by approximately 15 feet, allowing it to carry more fuel and fly longer missions than its predecessor.

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