Northrop Grumman updates on USAF Global Hawk
The US Air Force (USAF) RQ-4 Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) saw its cost per flight hour drop and number of flight hours increase significantly in 2014, Northrop Grumman said on 4 March.
According to the company, the high-altitude, long-endurance UAS programme has brought the system's cost per flight hour 'down to the point of being half the cost of the manned alternative'. The number of flight hours increased nearly 40% from 2013 to 2014, and the UAS maintained a perfect safety record over the financial period.
Mick Jaggers, director, Global Hawk, Northrop Grumman, said: 'As we move into 2015 and beyond, global security requires flexible systems and strategic agility. Global Hawk has proven again and again that it can bring unparalleled endurance, innovation and value to any mission.
'We are proud that, together with our air force partners, we are operating a very safe system that provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information effectively and efficiently when and where it is needed.'
Global Hawks have flown over 140,000 flight hours supporting various missions. It carries a number of ISR sensor payloads and supports information sharing, airborne communications relay, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, antipiracy and antiterrorism missions.
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