Global Hawk Tests Ability to Detect Airborne Targets

Published: Nov 03, 2005
Source: www.military.com



PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - The U.S. Navy's most advanced unmanned aerial system (UAS), the RQ-4A Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration (GHMD), participated with the Air Force in a congressionally directed demonstration Oct. 26, to detect airborne targets.

The 12.3 hour mission, flown in Navy Pacific Ocean test ranges off southern Calif., was a test of the effectiveness of the Global Hawk's radar to detect small aircraft in flight. The tests conducted will determine the capability of the radar to find and track airborne targets, and to pass sensor information in real time to ground facilities across the country.

This flight illustrated the highly joint nature of the Global Hawk program. The air vehicle, RQ-4A, is a Navy aircraft flown by contractor operators working for the Navy - and was flown from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on an Air Force test program. Data from the sensors was passed to both Air Force and Navy ground facilities.continue..